


Angel Cakes | A Sabriel Story

by deaniewithalittleweanie



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Dean is paraplegic, Destiel (background) - Freeform, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, F/M, Fluff, Gabriel owns a bakery, Human AU, M/M, Sabriel - Freeform, Slow Build, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-11-04
Updated: 2019-03-28
Packaged: 2019-08-17 09:37:22
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 25,722
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16513847
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/deaniewithalittleweanie/pseuds/deaniewithalittleweanie
Summary: It was a perfect day. Sam was about to go stand at the altar and wait for his bride, Jessica, to walk down the aisle. His perfect day turned into the worst day of his life when the church caught fire. Ten people dead, including his wife-to-be. Dean was nearly crushed to death, and his injuries left him paralyzed from the waist down. Sam did everything to take care of him, but trying to take care of his stubborn and newly immobilized brother was a monumental task. One day, he enters a bakery to get Dean the pie he requested. A certain golden-haired baker has his sights set on Sam from the moment he sees him.





	1. Perfect Day

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The cover art for this story is by the wonderful [holydean ](http://holydean.tumblr.com/)

The day was perfect. The sky was vivid blue and a few fluffy clouds were dotted around. The church had white flowers lining the pews, white tulle draped everywhere, and about two hundred guests packed inside. Sam’s side of the church wasn’t very full. He had about twenty college buddies, Jody, Bobby, Ellen, Ash, Jo, and John was supposed to be there, but it wasn’t likely. He had been on a three day bender, but his seat was saved. Dean was Sam’s best man. On the other side of the church, the pews were packed full of family and friend’s of Jessica Moore, soon to be Jessica Winchester.

 

The guests had all settled in, and final preparations were being made. Sam was in a dressing room while Dean adjusted his tie. He couldn’t stop smiling. Today was just too perfect. He had graduated a few days ago, and now he was about to marry the love of his life. Seeing Dean’s proud smile only made it better.

 

“Still can’t believe you’re gettin’ married, Sammy.”

 

Sam beamed. “I can’t believe it either.”

 

“I saw the impala out front. Dad actually made it.”

 

“Really? Huh.” Sam hadn’t spoken much to John in four years, when he was eighteen and left for Stanford. They had grown up mostly with Bobby while John crisscrossed the country, searching for whoever burned their house to the ground when Sam was six months old. Their childhood was anything but easy. Dean started working with Bobby straight out of highschool, but he barely kept a cent of anything he made. Everything went to Sam and funded his schoolwork. The scholarship was a massive help, but there were a lot of other expenses that needed to be covered.

 

Dean paused when he heard noise coming from the sanctuary. It sounded like pounding footsteps and shouting. He looked at the door and saw dark smoke seeping under the frame. A fire alarm started blaring and both brothers went running. When Dean opened the door, everything was frantic. Two hundred people were scrambling to escape the massive cloud of smoke. Fire blazed and covered the wooden beams. 

 

“Jess!’ Sam shouted, taking two steps towards the fire before someone grabbed his arm and started dragging him backwards. He turned and saw Bobby with an iron grip on his arm. “Let me go!” He tried to pull away, but then Ellen was helping Bobby pull Sam out of the church. The sight was even more horrifying as they got outside. The entire church was engulfed in flames. Fire truck sirens wailed, smoke billowed out of the shattered stained glass windows. 

 

Sam didn’t understand. Nothing made sense anymore. He could only watch in horror as the roof caved in and fire blazed up into the sky. Firefighters worked tirelessly to put out the relentless flames. Sam tore his eyes away from the burning building to try and find everyone. Bobby, Ellen, Ash, and Jo were all together, so they were safe. Sam saw Jessica’s wedding party as well. He saw most of his college buddies, Jessica’s friends, her family, but Jessica was nowhere to be seen. Her long white dress would be a dead giveaway in the crowd, but he didn’t see anyone in white. Another look around and he realized that Dean was gone as well. Firefighters were starting to pull people out of the building. He recognized Jessica’s cousin, one of his buddies, Matt, and a few others that were definitely part of Jessica’s family. He stared at the church, waiting and praying to see a white dress emerge…

 

...but it never came.

 

~~~

 

Sam never thought that he’d be watching as his fiance’s body was lowered into the ground. She would have loved today. It was perfectly sunny, not a single cloud in the sky. California’s spring weather was hot, but the ocean breeze kept the temperature perfect. This wasn’t the end of his sorrows, because tomorrow, he was going back to Kansas to watch as his father was buried. The man was too drunk to escape the burning church. Jessica had such a pure heart. According to her maid of honor, she had run into the sanctuary when the fire started to find Sam and make sure he got out. Sam blamed himself entirely. If he had just gone back in, he would have found her, and they would have gotten out together, at least, that’s what he thought. 

 

Dean had gone in himself to find try and get more people out. He successfully ushered out at least thirty people before the roof came down. He spent fifteen hours in surgery to try and repair the damage, but there was too much. He was paralyzed from the waist down. He had lost all sensation from the thighs down, and he had burns covering his back, chest, arms, and legs. The burning beam that had come down on him only burned him from about mid-chest down to his calves, but that was most of his body, so he was completely incapacitated in the hospital. The wedding was in Kansas, so at the very least, he was home. He was going to miss John’s burial, but he didn’t have much of a choice anymore.

 

Sam left the graveyard with his hands in his pockets. A few people offered him their condolences, but they meant nothing to him at this point. No one could comfort him. He went back to Jessica’s parent’s house for the rest of the day. Everyone was close to silent. Ten people were dead as a result of the fire. Jessica and John were two of them. One of Jessica’s bridesmaids died in the hospital, and seven of Jessica’s family members died in the fire. It was a massive tragedy for the Moore family. Sam could tell by the look on Jessica’s father’s face, that he blamed Sam for what happened. Sam couldn’t even bring himself to look at him. He slept on the couch that night, silent tears soaking the pillow.

 

The following morning, Sam got on a plane to Lawrence, Kansas. There wasn’t a service for John. Sam stood with Bobby as John was buried next to Mary. It’s what he would have wanted. Time blurred together. Sam vaguely remembered sitting in the hospital with Dean for hours, maybe days? He couldn’t remember. Then he was taking Dean home to his apartment in a wheelchair. Thank god Dean’s apartment was on the first floor of the building, otherwise he would have to move. Money went faster than expected as soon as Dean’s hospital bills came in. Every last cent of Sam and Dean’s collective savings were gone. Of course Dean didn’t have health insurance. Even that didn’t cover the enormous bill. Sam had an internship lined up in California, but he dropped that as soon as he heard the news that Jessica’s body was found in the ashes of the church. 

 

Sam searched for job postings, and he found one at a diner that was walking distance from the apartment. They had the impala now, but the mileage was awful and they didn’t exactly have gas money. Sam had a degree, but law school was out of the question now, and if he wanted to use his degree, he’d had to work an unpaid internship that would eat up all of the time he could be spending making money. He was bent over his laptop when a hand started snapping in front of his face. 

 

“Earth to Sammy!”

 

“Wha-what?”

 

“I can’t reach the food from here and it’s two pm. We need lunch.” Dean had about ten minutes of fun in the motorized wheelchair before the realization hit him that he would never leave this chair except to sleep. His arms and legs were still covered in bandages while his burns healed.

 

Sam rubbed his face and looked at the time. He sighed and got up from the couch, walking into the kitchen. He reached up and opened up the cabinets, looking around for something to eat. Nothing. He turned and opened the fridge. They had an array of condiments, spoiled milk, and a bag of rotten lettuce. Great. Sam sighed and looked at a bag of moldy bread. “Moldy ketchup sandwich?”

 

Dean grimaced. “Dude, no. Go get us something to eat. You’re turning into a beanpole again.”

 

Sam rolled his eyes. “I’m fine. You sure you can’t wait until dinner?”

 

“Yes, I’m sure. The medicine I took an hour ago is supposed to go down with food and I can tell why.” Dean grumbled. “You haven’t left the apartment in a week. I’m going to hurl if I have to eat another pizza. Go get some damn food.”

 

Sam rubbed his hand over his face. “Okay, I’m going. I have to go fill out a job application anyways.”

 

“Did you find a law office that does paid internships?”

 

“No. It’s the diner down the street.”

 

Dean frowned. At this point, they didn’t have much of a choice. They would starve if Sam didn’t get a job. Bobby sent them money when he could, but it wasn’t enough. “Okay. Get me a double cheeseburger, extra onions.”

 

Sam nodded. “I’ll see what I can do. Need anything before I go?”

 

Dean shook his head, but then he seemed to get an idea. “Pie. There’s a new bakery across the street from the diner. They make a mean cherry pie, a dollar a slice. Go get me some.”

 

Sam shook his head. “You’ve gone from working a physical labor job every day to nothing. You have to watch your eating or you’ll blow up like a balloon. The cheeseburger is bad enough.”

 

“And the pizza you’ve given me every day is any better?”

 

Sam sighed in defeat. “Fine, I’ll get you the pie.” He grabbed his keys and wallet before leaving the apartment. He walked down the street and took in a deep breath. Kansas had much more mild weather than California, so it was taking a little adjustment. He walked into the diner and asked for the manager so that he could discuss the job posting. After a short interview, the manager gave him a big smile and welcomed him to the team. He was given a uniform and offered a meal. Sam ordered the food Dean requested and thanked the manager profusely before leaving the diner. He almost started to walk back to the apartment before he remembered the pie. 

 

He crossed the street and opened the door of the sweet shop. The smell that hit him was delectable. He walked up to the counter and saw the cherry pie in the window. He didn’t see anyone for a moment, but then someone popped up from behind the counter with a lollipop stick hanging out of his mouth. 

 

“Well, hey there, handsome. How can I help you?” The man smiled, pulling the lollipop out of his mouth as he looked up at Sam.

 

Sam furrowed his brows. Was this guy flirting with him? God, he did not need this right now. “I just need a slice of the cherry pie.”

 

The man nodded. “Nice choice.” he popped the lollipop back into his mouth and pulled on a pair of gloves before taking out a slice of pie and placing it in a little plastic box. He stuck a gold ribbon on top and placing it on the counter in front of Sam. “That’ll be $1.07.” 

 

Sam pulled out his wallet, and his face fell a bit when he realized that all he had was a pile of change. It was only a dollar, surely he had enough. He started placing change on the counter, counting it out in his head. Quickly, he was realizing that he didn’t have enough. Before he could speak, the man behind the counter shook his head. 

 

“You know what? Don’t worry about it. It’s just a slice of pie. I make exceptions for pretty faces.” the man winked.

 

Sam’s eyes widened. Oh no, he was definitely flirting. “I-I really shouldn’t…”

 

“You should. It’s good pie.”

 

Sam blinked and looked at the pie. He knew that Dean wanted it, and he’d need the change, however little it was. “Thank you…” he looked at the name tag. “...Gabriel.”

 

Gabriel smiled. “Thank you for gracing me with your presence…” he paused, looking for a name, eyes drifting up and down Sam’s body.

 

“It’s, uh, it’s Sam, but I do need to offer you some business advice. Maybe if you didn’t objectify your customers, you wouldn’t have an empty shop.” He picked up the pie and turned, quickly leaving the shop. He did catch a glance of the shocked look on Gabriel’s face, which brought him an unnecessary amount of pleasure.

 

Sam returned to the apartment and found Dean in front of the TV, watching reruns of Doctor Sexy. He brought over the little tray that attached to Dean’s chair and set the pie and bag full of diner food on it. “I got the job.”

 

Dean smiled at the pie, but he beamed up at Sam. “Atta boy!” he pulled out his burger and dug in. 

 

“You should have told me that the guy who works at that bakery will flirt that anything that walks. Please tell me you weren’t trying to set me up.”

 

Dean looked back at Sam. “You talking about Gabe? I’ve seen him wink at a couple girls, but I’ve never seen him just outright flirt with someone. He owns that place. Also, dude, I’m not going to set you up two months after what happened. You’ve got to get your head sorted out before you get back out there.”

 

Sam furrowed his brows. “He owns the place? Guess I don’t have to worry about him getting in trouble over giving away the pie.”

 

“He gave you free pie? Ignore everything I just said. You’ve got to go back there. Flirt until you get an entire pie. I know you can do it. Give him those puppy eyes through your bangs. No one can resist those.”

 

Sam rolled his eyes. “I doubt he’d do that now. I may have snapped at him.”

 

Dean groaned. “There goes all my hopes and dreams of free pie.”

Sam sighed and laid down on the couch. “I start work tomorrow. Eight hour shift. They’re going to start me at night and see how I like it. I think that’ll be better for you. I can get you in bed and then go to work.”

 

Dean listened and nodded. “Whatever works for you is fine with me. I can handle myself.”

 

“No, you really can’t”

 

Dean glared. “Don’t give me that shit. I’d be fine here by myself.”

 

“No, you wouldn’t. You’re paralyzed, Dean. You can’t go to the bathroom, bathe yourself, feed yourself, or even get into bed.”

 

“Are you calling me a burden?”

 

“You know I’m not.”

 

Dean huffed. “Actually, I don’t know that. You’d be better off if I had died.”

 

“Stop saying that. You’re all I have left, Dean. I know we have some family in Sioux Falls, but you’re the only one that I just can’t live without. If both you and Jess had died that day...I wouldn’t have been around for much longer. So just shut up and eat your pie.” Sam rolled over to face away from Dean. It had been hard for them not to fight lately, but it rarely got super nasty. Today was pretty mild compared to other days. 

 

Sam was exhausted. Sleep rarely came most days, and he would take sporadic naps to keep from keeling over. He drifted off to sleep on the couch, and he was out for a few hours before there was a loud thud. He shot up and looked around, hearing a groan of pain from the bathroom. He ran into the small bathroom and found Dean sprawled out on the floor. It was obvious that he had tried to go to the bathroom by himself. “Damn it, Dean, why didn’t you wake me up?”

 

Dean growled and didn’t answer. 

 

Sam picked Dean up under the arms and placed him back into his chair. “You could at least answer me.”

 

“I can use the bathroom by myself.”

 

Sam rolled his eyes. He helped Dean use the restroom before putting him back in his chair and leading him to the bed. He lifted Dean out of the chair and helped him into bed. They didn’t speak again after that. Sam went back to the couch and sat down. He rubbed his face and sighed. He had to have to most stubborn paraplegic in the world living with him.

As he thought about it, he started to wonder what would happen when he would be gone for eight hours a day. He opened up his laptop and started doing some research. There had to be something. He stumbled upon a website for a guy who did in-home care and physical therapy. He looked over pricing and times, and it was shockingly reasonable. The guy even did a few trial days to see if it would work out, so there was no commitment. He immediately started an email to him.

 

_ To:  _ [ _ castielnovak@gmail.com _ ](mailto:castielnovak@gmail.com)

_ From:  _ [ _ samw1983@gmail.com _ ](mailto:samw1983@gmail.com)

 

Hello, my name is Sam Winchester. My brother, Dean, is paraplegic. I have done my best to help him, but I’m about to start a full-time job, and I’m worried about leaving him alone all day or all night. Let me know what times you have available and if we could arrange a meeting.

 

Sincerely, Sam Winchester

 

Sam only waited about five minutes before he had a response.

 

_ To:  _ [ _ samw1983@gmail.com _ ](mailto:samw1983@gmail.com)

_ From:  _ [ _ castielnovak@gmail.com _ ](mailto:castielnovak@gmail.com)

 

Hello, Sam.

I currently have both my afternoon and night slots open at the moment. I would love to schedule a meeting to discuss what times would work best. I don’t have a formal office, but if you’re nearby, there’s a bakery downtown called Angel Cakes that I usually meet clients at. If you have another location in mind, do let me know and I will accomodate. I look forward to meeting you and your brother.

 

Sincerely,

Castiel Novak

 

Sam was smiling until he saw the name of the bakery. Oh god, that was the one Gabriel owned. He did not like the idea of going back, but he wasn’t going to argue. He sent back a simple response and agreed to meet up at the bakery tomorrow morning. Maybe Gabriel wouldn’t be there. 

 

Morning came slower than Sam would have liked. He got Dean out of bed, helped him to the restroom, and then got him settled in front of the TV with a mug of coffee, a glass of water, and his medications. 

 

“I’ll be back in a couple hours.”

 

“Where are you even going?”

 

“Meeting at work. Just getting a tour of the place before I start tonight.” Sam answered. He didn’t want Dean to know what he was planning, not yet. If he ended up liking Castiel, then he would tell him. Otherwise, it would remain a secret.

 

“Alright. Good luck, Sammy.” he sipped on his coffee. 

 

Sam left the apartment and jogged downtown. He paused outside of the bakery, looking in the window to see if Gabriel was there. He didn’t see him behind the counter, so he breathed a sigh of relief and walked inside. He recognized Castiel from his picture online and walked over to his table. “Castiel?”

 

Castiel looked up at Sam and gave a warm smile. “You must be Sam. Please, sit.” 

 

Sam sat down across from Castiel and smiled. “Thank you so much for meeting me so soon after I emailed you.”

 

“It’s not a problem. I was looking forward to meeting you. Is your brother at home?”

 

Sam nodded. “Yeah, we don’t really have a great way of transporting him yet. Our uncle Bobby got him a really nice motorized chair, but we don’t have a van or anything to drive him around, so he stays home.”

 

Castiel nodded. “How long has he been paraplegic?”

 

“Only two months. There was…an accident.” He paused. If Castiel was going to be there, he should know what happened. “The church we were in caught fire. He went inside to try and get people out, and the roof caved in. He has burns covering most of his torso and legs too. I’ll warn you, he’s stubborn. He would be trying to do everything by himself if I wasn’t there.”

 

Castiel listened and nodded. He tilted his head. “I think I saw the news story about that. Was it the First Baptist Church?”

 

Sam nodded. “Yeah, it was.”

 

“I went to church there when I was younger. I was sad to hear that it burned down, and it broke my heart to hear that it was right before a wedding.” Thinking about the story that he read about the accident, he remembered a few details. “The article I read, it saw the best man got thirty people out of there before he was nearly crushed by a falling beam. Was that your brother?”

 

Sam swallowed thickly. “Yeah, it was.”

 

Castiel’s face fell with realization that it was Sam’s wedding that got crashed by a fire. “Forgive me for prying. I won’t mention it again.”

 

“No, it’s okay. You would have found out eventually, so I guess it’s better if it’s out in the open immediately.” Sam answered and gave a small smile. 

 

Castiel gave a small smile back. “Should we arrange a meeting with your brother?”

 

Sam nodded. “Definitely. I should tell him that I’m doing this first. He’s going to be pissed, but he needs it so he can grow up and deal with it.”

 

“He doesn’t know that we’re meeting?”

 

“I wanted to know that this would work out before I told him. We would just fight about it if I tried to talk him into it first.” 

 

Castiel nodded. He looked over at the counter and rolled his eyes. 

 

“Cassie!” 

 

Castiel sighed. “Hello, Gabriel. I’m with a client.”

 

Sam’s eyes widened. Oh no, they knew each other. 

 

Gabriel smiled. “Aw, I was hoping you finally got a date. Gimme five minutes and I’ll bring you guys some coffee.”

 

Castiel looked back at Sam. “I’m so sorry about my little brother, Sam. He doesn’t have a filter.”

 

Sam nodded. “Yeah, I can tell.” he was so glad that his back was facing the counter. Maybe Gabriel wouldn’t see him. “Anyways, I think Dean will learn to really like having someone around while I’m at work. The physical therapy will be great for him too. He had the worst eating habits and I’m so worried that he’s going to blow up like a balloon any day now.”

 

Castiel smiled. “He sounds like the perfect candidate for physical therapy from that description. I work mostly with patients who have been immobilized in some way, so we do many different kinds of therapy. We’ll do some that may help him to regain some control of his body, though I don’t have any guarantees for that. I do some occupational therapy to help him learn how to do more things by himself, and physical therapy to keep him in shape.”

 

Sam smiled. “That sounds amazing.” He watched as two mugs were set down in front of them and he looked up on instinct.

 

Gabriel set the coffees down and looked at Castiel. “How’ve you been, Cassie?”

 

“I’ve been fine. I’m in the middle of a client meeting at the moment.”

 

“Right, right.” Gabriel looked over at the person sitting across from Castiel, and his eyes widened a bit when he saw Sam. “Sam, I didn’t think I’d ever see you back here, which sucked because I owe you an apology. Did you enjoy your pie, at least?”

 

“Oh, uh, it was for my brother. He ate it in about ten seconds so I think he liked it.”

 

“Tell him to swing by for more any time he likes. Again, sorry for how I acted yesterday. See ya around.” he winked and walked back behind the counter.

 

Castiel sighed. “I am so sorry about him. Was he rude to you yesterday? We could have met somewhere else, anywhere else, I just come here because he gives us free coffee and-”

 

“It’s alright, really. I was just in a bad mood and snapped at him. It wasn’t a big deal, honestly.”

 

Castiel nodded. “If he ever terrorizes you, don’t be afraid to tell me.”

 

Sam smiled. “He really wasn’t, he was just being nice.”

 

“I guess we should set up a time for me to meet your brother.”

 

“Yeah, definitely. I need to tell him today, and I work tonight from six to two, and I don’t have the rest of my schedule, but I’ll let you know.”

 

Castiel nodded. “If you want, I can come over in a few hours. I actually don’t have any clients at the moment. My last client passed away from surgery complications about a week ago.”

 

“I’m sorry, that sucks.”

 

“It’s alright. She was in her nineties and in a lot of pain.”

 

But yeah, I can definitely do a few hours from now.” He looked at the time. “Can you do eleven?”

 

Castiel nodded. “Yeah, of course.” He pulled a notepad and pen out of a backpack that was beside his chair. “Here, put your address down here.”

 

Sam wrote down the address of the apartment, and his phone number. “Here you go.” He picked up his coffee and finished it. “I should probably get going so I can talk Dean into this.”

 

Castiel nodded. “I hope it goes well. I’ll see you soon, Sam.”

 

“Yeah, see you soon, Castiel.” He stood up and put his keys back in his pocket before leaving the shop.

 

Castiel heard a wolf whistle from Gabriel. 

 

“Man, what I wouldn’t do to get my paws on him.”

 

“Gabriel, what did you say to him?”

 

“Nothing. I just gave him free pie because he was digging out nickels and pennies to try and pay for it. I may have called him pretty too.”

 

Castiel sighed. “Remember when we read that the church burned down?”

 

“Yeah. What about it?”

 

“That was his wedding. He was supposed to get married two months ago. Ten people died, including his father and his wife-to-be. His brother is paraplegic after running inside to get people out.”

 

Gabriel’s eyes widened, and suddenly it wasn’t funny anymore. “You’re yanking my chain, right?”

 

“No, I’m not. Why would I joke about that?”

 

Gabriel sighed. “Damn it. Now I’m the asshole.”

 

“You always were.”

 

“Shut up.”

 

~~~

 

“You did what?!”

 

“Dean, you’re going to love him. He’s super nice and he’s going to do all of this physical therapy-”

 

“You lied to me, Sam!”

 

“I wasn’t going to keep it a secret. If it didn’t work out, no big deal, we just continue as is, but I think this is going to work out. Just give it a chance, please?” He pulled some hardcore puppy eyes.

 

Dean scowled. “Fine. But if he ends up being some bubbly guy who gives me stickers and lollipops, I’m driving my chair into oncoming traffic.”

 

Sam rolled his eyes. “Trust me, he’s not. Now stay put while I clean up.” He walked around the apartment, cleaning up the trash that had built up over the past few weeks and took it out to the dumpster. He cleaned every surface and even sprayed some febreeze around to make the apartment smell better. By the time he was finished, he heard a knock at the door. He opened it and smiled at Castiel, opening the door fully for him. 

 

Castiel stepped inside and held out a little cardboard box with a gold ribbon on it to Sam. “This is from Gabriel. He insisted on sending it.”

 

Sam blinked. “Oh, well, tell him I said thanks.”

 

Castiel nodded and looked over at the middle of the room, meeting eyes with Dean. He walked over and held his hand out. “Hello, Dean. My name is Castiel. I’ve been looking forward to meeting you.”

 

Sam watched as Castiel and Dean introduced themselves to each other and easily rolled into a conversation. Sam knew they’d get along. He walked to the kitchen and set then box on the counter, opening it up and finding an entire cherry pie and a note. He picked it up and read it. 

 

-My apology sucked this morning, so here’s my attempt at another one. I’m really sorry for my comments yesterday. I was being gross and I didn’t mean to offend you. Cas told me about the church. I understand why you snapped and I deserved it. If you’d let me, I’d like to make it up to you. I’ve left my number on the back of this. Let me get you dinner sometime. Again, I’m sorry I was a creep. Sincerely, Gabriel-

 

Sam furrowed his brows. Great. Now he had yet another person in his life showering him with sympathy. This was the last thing he needed. He left the pie on the counter and threw the note into a drawer. The guy couldn’t even apologize without asking him on a date. What an asshole.

 

~~~

 

The meeting was fantastic. Castiel decided to stay all day to get to know Dean and start a routine with him. Since he didn’t have any clients at the moment, he was eager to stay and figure out the hours that would work best for them.

 

Sam had his first shift at the diner that night. He was shocked at how fast tables turned in there. He picked it up quickly, and by the end of his shift, he had $120 in his pocket. He found Dean in bed when he got home and a note from Castiel.

 

-Thank you for letting me stay longer today, Sam. Dean and I had a good time working out a schedule and routine. I don’t know how many hours you’ll want me here at first, but I think we should start with four hours a day, 6pm-10pm. Those seem to be the hours when you need the most help. Here is my number if anything changes. See you tomorrow. ~Castiel-

 

Sam smiled at the note and set it aside. He changed into some pajama pants and dropped to the couch. Within a few minutes, he was out like a light.


	2. Stubborness

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, this story is doing way better than I thought it would. I should probably mention that this story will be part of a 2-part series. Once this story is finished, I'm posting a second work in the same universe, except it'll be from Dean's point-of-view and it'll be focused on the Destiel half of this story. So you can look forward to that! Thanks for all the love. Happy reading!

Sam found out very quickly that being a waiter will suck your very soul out of your body. He was completely drained of his life essence every night. He worked the same 6pm-2am shift every night. On weeknights, he would usually make about $100. Friday and Saturday nights, he could expect at least double that. He averaged about $1000 dollars a week, which was, thank god, enough to get by for now. He paid Castiel about half of that every week, part of it went towards their hospital bills, and the rest was for food and rent. 

 

Sam was really happy that Castiel and Dean got along. The physical therapy seemed to be helping, because Dean had started cooking for himself again. Sam’s schedule was exhausting, but it worked. He would get back from work around 2:30 and went to sleep. He got back up at 7:00 and got Dean out of bed and dressed. They would eat breakfast together, then Sam would usually take a morning nap to refuel a little more. Dean started making lunch, since that was one of the few things he could do alone. Sam would leave for work around 5:30 and the cycle would repeat. 

 

One day, Sam was in the middle of his morning nap when he got hit with a pillow. “Huh?”

 

“Wake up. I want to go out.”

 

Sam looked up at Dean. “What?”

 

“I just looked at a calendar. I haven’t left the apartment in a month. Last time I left, it was for a doctor’s appointment and we had to hire that van to take me.”

 

“You want me to hire the van again? Where do you want to go?”

 

“I want more pie. I’m technically working out, and I haven’t had any since you got that entire pie the first time Cas came over three weeks ago. We don’t need the van to get there. I can drive this thing.”

 

Sam sat up. “You sure that’s where you want to go?”

 

Dean nodded. “I’m sure. Get your skinny ass up and let’s go.”

 

Sam groaned a bit, but Dean was right. It had been a month since he left the apartment, and he knew it was getting to him. He got up and pulled his shoes on before opening the door for Dean. He walked behind him and made sure Dean stayed on the sidewalks. It took a lot longer to get there than it usually took Sam to get there. Dean’s chair wasn’t exactly speedy. Sam opened the door for Dean and ushered him inside. Sam plopped down in a chair in the corner of the bakery and looked around. The place was absolutely packed today. There wasn’t a line at the moment, but every table except the one he was at had people sitting at it. 

 

Dean returned to the table with a plate of cherry pie that had a scoop of ice cream on top of it. He had someone following him, and Sam hid his face of dismay when he saw who it was.

 

“Sammy, you didn’t tell me that he’s Cas’s brother!” Dean smiled and set his pie on the table. 

 

Gabriel sat down at the table in the other chair and smiled at Sam. “I’ve heard so much about Dean from my dear older brother. He’ll be happy to hear that you’re both out and about.”

 

Sam gave a fake, polite smile. Something about this guy just really irked him. “Shouldn’t you be behind the counter?”

 

Gabriel shook his head. “I hired a new guy. I stay back in the kitchen and bake, mostly. I was restocking the window when I saw Dean. How’ve you been?”

 

“Fine.” Sam answered simply.

 

Dean nudged Sam with his elbow. “Dude, what is your problem?” He whispered.

 

Sam ignored Dean and rolled his eyes a bit.

 

Gabriel was still smiling. “It’s alright, Dean. I deserve it.” He pulled a lollipop out of his pocket and popped it into his mouth. He looked at Sam. “I really am sorry, Sam. I-”

 

“Stop saying sorry! I don’t want your pity! I wasn’t even that upset that you were flirting with me, but now you’re just sad for me.” Sam snapped. He stood up from the table and stormed out of bakery, fuming with anger.

 

Dean’s eyes were wide as he watched Sam storm out. He blinked and looked at Gabriel. “Dude. What did you say to him?”

 

Gabriel looked at Dean. “Not much, I guess. I was flirting when he came in for the first time. He sassed me pretty good. I saw him again three weeks ago when he came in to meet with Cassie. I was more subtle that time. I don’t think I did anything but wink. That pissed my brother off, so he told me about the wedding. I felt like shit after that, so I sent him a pie...and my number.”

 

Dean chuckled. “Man, you’ve got it bad. Hate to break it to you but I’m pretty sure that Sammy’s straight. I’ve only ever seen him with girls.”

 

Gabriel shook his head. “I have a fantastic gaydar. I know when to to play and when to fold.”

 

“You do? Well, is there anyone in this room that you can pick out?”

 

Gabriel looked at Dean. “First of all, there’s me. The girl by the window is a lesbian. Then again, I know her, so that’s cheating. And you, my friend, are one of the most bisexual people I’ve ever met in my life.”

 

Dean looked offended. “The hell? I am not! Your gaydar is broken.”

 

Gabriel laughed hard. “Even better, you’re an extremely closeted bisexual. It’s okay. You’ll figure it out, buddy.” he clapped Dean on the shoulder. “Make sure Sam’s alright for me, ‘kay?” He got up and returned to the kitchen to finish up some cupcakes. 

 

Dean finished his pie and started attempting to open the door on his own to get out, which was harder than it looked. Someone walked up beside him and opened the door for him. Dean looked up and saw the redhead Gabriel had pointed out. “Thanks.”

 

“No problem.” She made sure Dean made it out the door before returning to her seat by the window. 

 

Dean looked around and saw Sam sitting on a bench. He rolled up to him. “Ready to head home, Sammy?”

 

Sam looked at Dean. “Yeah.” He stood up and started walking alongside him.

 

“You doin’ alright, man? You’ve been acting weird lately.”

 

“I’m just tired. I’m fine. Sorry I stormed out. He just gets on my nerves.”

 

Dean looked up at Sam. “Why? Because he flirts with you?”

 

“No, because he just pities me.”

 

Dean nodded a bit. “I don’t think he does. I think he just thinks you’re smokin’ hot and he feels bad about upsetting you.”

 

Sam put his hands in his pockets. “Whatever.” He led Dean back to the apartment and laid down on the couch again. It wasn’t five minutes before he got a call from work, asking if he could work a double shift today. God, they needed the money, so he said yes. 

 

Dean looked at Sam. “You sure about that? You look exhausted.”

 

“I’m sure. We need the money. Eventually we’ll have Cas around for more hours and it’ll cost more, so I need the hours. Will you be alright?”

 

“You know I’ll be fine. I’m just worried about you, Sam. If you don’t feel good just tell them and-”

 

“Dean, please. I’m fine. Call me or Cas if you need anything.”

 

Dean sighed. “Alright.” He looked back at the television screen, turning on another episode of Dr. Sexy MD. Thank god the show just got renewed for a fifteenth season, because he was running out of episodes here. 

 

Sam left the apartment and walked to work, clocking in and tying his apron around his waist. He took a few tables and started taking orders. Some guy yelled at him because he was convinced the coffee he was served was decaf because it “tasted like shit”, but Sam knew it was just regular, shitty coffee. He went through the motions, serving plate after plate of food. 

 

As the sun went down, a few new tables came in. Sam had several big parties in a row, so to hear that there was a table of one was a relief. He walked over to the table and started pulling out his notepad.

 

“I didn’t know that you worked here.”

 

Sam looked at the customer’s face and his eyes widened a bit when he saw Gabriel sitting there. “Uh...Yeah, I’ve only been here for three weeks.”

 

“Ah. You like it?”

 

Sam gave a small, awkward nod. “Yeah, it pays good, and the manager is nice. What can I get for you?”

 

“I’ll have a Coke, the chicken tender platter with fries, and a chocolate milkshake.” Gabriel smiled up at Sam.

 

Sam nodded and wrote that down, leaving the table to go get Gabriel’s drink. He put in his order and checked on his other tables. One of them had a family that had been very sweet, up until now. The mother asked to see the manager, to which Sam obliged. Apparently the fries weren’t cooked well enough and the woman was convinced that she would get salmonella. Sam and the manager tried to explain that you can’t get salmonella from potatoes, but that they would be glad to get her some new fries, but she got up in their faces and shouted at them while her husband escorted the kids out. 

 

As soon as that was over, Sam brought Gabriel’s food to his table. 

 

Gabriel looked up at Sam. “Does that happen a lot?”

 

Sam sighed a bit. “Sometimes, yeah.”

 

Gabriel sighed and shook his head. “Dumbasses. Thanks for the grub, Sammy.” 

 

Sam did his best not to make a face at the nickname. “No problem.” He left the table to go clean up after the family that had left. 

 

When he went back to check on Gabriel, he found the booth empty. The food was gone and there was a twenty dollar bill folded and placed part way under the glass. When Sam looked at the plate, he saw ketchup all over it. He furrowed his brows and saw that Gabriel had written his phone number on the plate with the ketchup. 

 

One of Sam’s coworkers, an older lady named Priscilla, walked by and saw the plate. She laughed hard. “That’s a first. Take a picture of it. Was she cute?”

 

Sam chuckled awkwardly. “I’m good.” He picked up the plate and stacked the cup and milkshake glass on top of it, smearing the ketchup. 

 

At the end of Sam’s shift, he was beat. He went to get his things out of his locker and picked up his phone. His eyes went wide when he saw that he has six missed calls from Castiel. He ran out of the diner, calling him back. One of the calls was from an hour ago, so he hoped that he was still up. 

 

“Sam?”

 

“Cas, I’m so sorry, I left my phone in the back.”

 

“It’s alright, Sam, you were working.”

 

“What happened?”

 

“Dean was on the floor when I got to apartment. He tried to go to the restroom by himself. He hit his head on the edge of the tub and fractured his ankle. He’s spending the night in the hospital tonight. I’m settled down to stay with him, so you go home and rest.”

 

“No, no I’ll be there soon.”

 

“Visiting hours ended at eight. They’ll open up again tomorrow morning. The only reason they’re letting me stay is because I’m his caretaker. Go get some sleep. Dean said you’ve been there since noon.”

 

Sam sighed and rubbed his face. “Okay, I’ll be there tomorrow. Thank you for staying with him. Tell him he’s an idiot for me.”

 

“You’re on speaker, Sam.” Dean grumbled. 

 

Sam blinked. “Well, you’re an idiot, Dean.”

 

“Bitch.”

 

“Jerk.”

 

Castiel smiled softly at the exchange. “Go get some sleep, Sam. Sleep in tomorrow too.”

 

“I’ll try. Thanks, again, Cas.” Sam hung up and walked back to the apartment. He went to go take a shower and saw the mess that had been left behind. Dean’s chair was still in the bathroom, and the shower curtains had been ripped off the rod. Dean has probably grabbed them on his way down. He moved Dean’s chair to the doorway of the apartment and reattached the shower curtains to the rod. He took the fastest shower he could before he crashed on the couch. 

 

The next morning, Sam got up at seven and ran the five miles to the hospital. He needed the exercise anyways. Castiel sent him Dean’s room number after they got off the phone last night, so he was able to find it pretty easily. He opened the door slowly and peeked his head in. He saw Dean in bed, still asleep. That, he expected. What he really didn’t expect to see was a long arm draped over Dean’s chest and Castiel’s face buried in Dean’s neck. Sam’s eyes went wide and he stared in surprise before knocking on the door a bit. 

 

Castiel was the first to wake up. He opened his eyes and looked at the door, his face paling when he saw Sam. He shot up and got out of the bed. 

 

“Hey, where’re ya goin’?” Dean grumbled and looked at Castiel before looking at the door. He saw Sam standing there and his eyes widened.

 

Castiel was the first to speak. “It’s not what it looks like. I-I wasn’t-”

 

Sam started to laugh. He was so tired, and the looks on their faces was just too much. He was doubled over from laughing within seconds. He had tears running from his eyes as he straightened back up. “I’m sorry...I just can’t.” he took a deep breath. 

 

Castiel and Dean exchanged a look before Castiel spoke. “You’re not angry?”

 

“Dude, no. It’s just too funny.” Sam took a breath to compose himself and turned his attention to Dean. “As for you, I am mad at you. What were you thinking?”

 

Dean grumbled and rolled his eyes. “It’s not a big deal, Sam. Really.”

 

Sam crossed his arms and pulled a bitchface. “Yeah, right. How’s your ankle?”

 

Dean chuckled. “Did you forget that I can’t feel anything down there? I didn’t even know I broke it until I got here.”

 

Sam nodded. “Right, yeah, sorry.”

 

Dean frowned. “Why are you here so early? You must be exhausted.”

 

“I’m fine, Dean.”

 

Castiel looked at Sam. “We’ll probably be able to head back to the apartment soon. The doctor told us last night that Dean could go home in the morning. You should think about getting some more sleep once we’re back. You worked a fourteen hour shift last night.”

 

“I said that I’m fine.” Sam looked at Castiel. “Just focus on Dean, not me, okay?”

 

Castiel frowned. “I’m not saying that as a caretaker, Sam. I’m saying that as a friend. Just think about it.” He sat down on the edge of the bed.

 

Sam didn’t answer. He sat down in the chair beside the bed and looked at Dean. “So, how long have you two…”

 

“Uh, I guess since last night?” Dean was blushing bright red.

 

Sam nodded and gave a small smile. He had never seen Dean get that flustered over someone. It was cute. 

 

Castiel was right when he said that they would get to leave soon. Within the hour, they had Dean in a wheelchair and Castiel was placing Dean in the passenger seat of his car while Sam held Dean’s legs, making sure he didn’t bump his bad ankle on anything. There was a cast on it, which would be taken off in six weeks. Sam rode in the backseat of Castiel’s car, and he couldn’t help but smile when Castiel’s hand moved from his own lap to take Dean’s, holding it gently as he drove. 

 

Sam was rolling his eyes the whole time while Dean bitched at them about being carried inside. He seemed to relax once he was finally in bed. 

 

Sam made coffee in the kitchen and handed a mug to Castiel once he joined him there. 

 

“Dean’s already half-asleep. He’s on painkillers for his head that make him drowsy. Thank you for the coffee.”

 

“No problem.” Sam leaned against the counter and sipped on his coffee. 

 

“What you saw this morning, I didn’t mean for you to see. Not that I was doing things in private, we just...I don’t know. I’ve never been like this before. It’s strange. Your brother is pretty special. I like him a lot.” 

 

Sam smiled softly. “I said I wasn’t angry. How could I be? When I walked in, I saw how Dean was sleeping. I haven’t seen him that peaceful since...I don’t know when. Even when he woke up, he looked...happy. That’s pretty rare for Dean, if you haven’t noticed.” He sipped his coffee. “You’ve done so much for us. I can’t thank you enough.” 

 

Castiel smiled softly at Sam. “Most of that is my job. As stubborn as Dean is, he’s a great client. He doesn’t like the physical therapy most of the time, but he’s getting better and stronger. He’s making me watch all of these old horror movies. I’m personally not a fan, but they help him to relax, strangely enough.”

 

Sam chuckled. “Let me guess, All Saint’s Day?”

 

Castiel nodded. “Yes, I think that’s the one.” He paused and pulled out his phone. He read the texts he had received and chuckled. “Gabe says he saw you at work yesterday. According to him ‘some psycho soccer mom thought she could get salmonella from French fries’.”

 

Sam laughed a bit. “Yeah, that happened. He left his phone number in ketchup on my plate.”

 

Castiel sighed. “God, I’m sorry about him. He doesn’t really know when to quit. I think at this point, he just wants to know you.”

 

Sam looked out the window at the street. “What made him open a bakery?”

 

“I’m sure you’ve noticed his massive sweet tooth by now. He’s been like that since he was young. He used to bake with our mother. He got a two year business degree and worked for months to get the bakery open. He worked there alone for more than a year, and he’s just now started hiring people. Thank god, because he was getting so overworked. I worried about him. You wouldn’t be able to tell, though. He can smile through almost anything.”

 

Sam listened and nodded. He finished his coffee and opened up the fridge. “We don’t have much, but help yourself to breakfast.”

 

Castiel smiled and looked at the time. “That’s very kind of you, but I have a new client in my afternoon slot. I have to be there in an hour. You working again tonight?”

 

Sam nodded. “Yeah, same as always.”

 

“Alright. I’ll see you later, Sam. Take care. Get some rest while your brother is sleeping. You need it.” He left the house to go to work. 

 

Sam made himself an omelette for breakfast. When he opened the drawer for a spatula, he saw a little note sitting on top. He picked it up and realized it was the note from the pie Gabriel had given them. He saw the phone number on the back and stared for a moment in thought. He set the note on the counter and finished making his breakfast. 

 

As he ate, he kept glancing at the note. Gabriel was nice to him in the diner yesterday. His food and drink only cost about ten dollars, so he had another ten to keep as a tip. He never really apologized to him for blowing up in his face at the bakery. The more he thought about it, the more he wanted to message him. By the time he finished his breakfast, his mind was settled. He cleaned up after himself and picked up the note. He dialed the number into his cellphone and held it to his ear. 

 

“Texas Crematorium, you kill ‘em, we grill ‘em.” That was a terrible Texas accent.

 

Sam furrowed his brows. “Gabriel?”

 

“Whoa, Sam, is that you?”

 

“Yeah, it’s me.”

 

“Wow, I didn’t think this day would come. I’m guessing you got my ketchup note?”

 

Sam chuckled. “I did, but I got your number from the note from the pie.”

 

“You’ve kept that note for three weeks? Oh, Sam, I’m flattered.”

 

Sam rolled his eyes. “To be perfectly honest with you, I forgot I had it.”

 

“I’m just messin’ with you. Hey, how’s Dean? Cas told me what happened.”

 

“He’s sleeping right now. We got him home about an hour ago. Cas went to go take care of his other client.”

 

“Yeah, he’s got a new client in the afternoons. From what I heard it’s some grumpy old guy. He strongly prefers Dean over him.” He chuckled. “Hey, why did you call? Not that I’m upset about it, it’s just unexpected.”

 

“Oh, I just...thanks for the tip yesterday. That was way more than you had to leave. Also, I’m really sorry about blowing up at you at the bakery. That was super uncalled for and-“

 

“Hey, it’s alright, man. Everyone loses their cool now and again. No need to apologize.”

 

Sam sighed a bit. “If there’s any way to make it up to you-“

 

“Gonna have to interrupt you again there. You don’t need to make it up to me, but if it’ll make you feel any better, meet me for lunch today. We can just chat it out.”

 

Sam sighed. “I would, but I really shouldn’t leave Dean alone.”

 

“No biggie. I’ll bring you lunch. What do you like? Pizza? Burgers? Soup?”

 

Sam blinked. “You don’t have to do that, really. Shouldn’t you stay at the bakery?”

 

“Nah, I worked almost all night last night after I left the diner. Alfie can run the counter just fine. Seriously, what kind of food do you like?”

 

Sam frowned a bit when he heard that Gabriel was working all night, but he decided that he should answer the question. “I...I guess I like any kind of salad? Like, something with chicken on it and a light dressing?”

 

Gabriel nodded and grinned. “Healthy. I like it. I know exactly where to go. Text me your address. I’ll be there at noon.”

 

“O-okay. Will do.” He looked at his phone when Gabriel hung up and looked at the clock. Two hours until Gabriel would be here. He sent the apartment address to Gabriel’s number and added his contact into his address book. He made some bacon and scrambled eggs and walked into the bedroom. He set the plate on the table and gently shook Dean’s shoulder. 

 

“Wha? Cas?” Dean grumbled. 

 

“Nope. It’s me. I have food.” Sam sat Dean up and stuck the plate into his hands. 

 

Dean took the plate and started shoveling food into his mouth. “You gonna let me sleep after this?”

 

Sam chuckled. “Sure. You just have to eat so you can take your medicine.” He laid out three pills on the table for Dean and gave him a glass of water. 

 

Dean hummed. “You going to sleep after this?”

 

“Uh, no, actually. Gabriel is coming over for lunch.”

 

“What? Really? Nice. You need a friend.” 

 

Sam rolled his eyes. “It’s just to make up for yelling at him.”

 

“Right, right. I’m gonna sleep through that. These painkillers are awesome.” 

 

Sam chuckled. “You do that.” He took the now empty plate and helped Dean lie back down before leaving the room to let Dean sleep. He decided to squeeze in a quick nap before Gabriel got here, just so he wouldn’t keel over from lack of sleep. He laid down on his stomach on the couch, and he didn’t even have to try before he was asleep. 

 

Sam jolted awake when he heard knocking at the door. He rubbed his eyes and got up, opening the door. 

 

“Good nap? Nice bedhead.” Gabriel chuckled. “I have food.”

 

Sam ran a hand through his fluffed up hair to try and smooth it down. He let Gabriel inside. “Thanks again for bringing lunch.”

 

“No problemo. You inspired me to eat something that wasn’t garbage, so I should be thanking you.” He sat down at the table and pulled out a plastic container with Sam’s salad, and a bowl of soup for himself. 

 

Sam sat down across from Gabriel and picked up his fork. He was quiet, unsure of what to say. Fortunately for him, Gabriel was quite the chatterbox. He listened as Gabriel went on and on about the bakery, his new cupcake recipe, and how business was doing so well that he was considering hiring another baker to help him out. 

 

“As nice as it would be to have someone else baking with me, it’s weird to just hand over all of my recipes, you know?” Gabriel paused and noticed that their food was gone. “I haven’t let you speak a word, have I?”

 

Sam chuckled. “It’s alright.”

 

“Not really. I basically invited myself over just to talk your ear off. How’ve you been?”

 

“I’ve been alright. Just working and taking care of Dean.” 

 

Gabriel nodded. “When was the last time you took time off for yourself?”

 

Sam blinked. “I guess, not since the fire. I haven’t been able to. It’s not like I can leave Dean at home. I did that yesterday and he ended up in the hospital.”

 

“Cas said he tried to use the restroom by himself. That doesn’t sound like your fault. From what I’ve heard, he’s really stubborn.”

 

“He is. That’s the second time he’s fallen like that. I was home the first time too, just asleep. I’ve just had to realize that there isn’t going to be time for me anymore. I have to take care of my brother.”

 

Gabriel frowned a bit at that, but a plan was formulating in his head. “That’s not true. Do you have any family or friends that could come by for a little while so you could take a break?”

 

Sam shook his head. “Not really. We have a few family friends in South Dakota, but Dean wouldn’t let any of them see him. I still call them every once in a while, but Dean has basically cut himself off from everyone except me. He used to be a mechanic. He worked with our Uncle Bobby all through high school and even after. He moved down here for a job a few years ago and he doesn’t want to leave. We can’t really afford to go anywhere. Every last cent that I make goes towards rent, paying Cas, food, and hospital bills. Dean didn’t have health insurance, and he still doesn’t, so we pay out of pocket for everything. We’re still waiting for a settlement from the electrical company that wired the church. That should help, but I don’t know how much it will be. Hopefully enough to cover medical stuff for a while. Sorry, I’m rambling.”

 

“No, no, it’s okay. It’s good to hear you talking. The wiring in the church was faulty?”

 

Sam nodded. “Yeah, it was. All of it. We decorated with all of this white tulle, and that stuff burns really fast. The wooden pillars caught fire quickly too. Apparently the fire marshall was there only a few days before the wedding, and the building was way out of code. Half of the alarms didn’t work. The church did the best they could. They replaced a lot of the smoke alarms, but it wasn’t enough. I don’t blame them. I don’t really blame anyone except my-”

 

“If you’re about to say that you blame yourself, you need to stop, right now. That kind of mentality will kill you. Trust me. You’re never going to be able to move on until you stop blaming yourself. You didn’t start the fire. You didn’t know the wiring was faulty. You weren’t thinking about the church catching fire when you put up the tulle. What happened was horrible, and I can’t imagine what it was like to lose that many people all at once, but I do know that blaming yourself isn’t the way to deal with it.”

 

Sam blinked and swallowed. The last person to give him a speech like that was Bobby over the phone, and that was weeks ago. “She wasn’t even in the sanctuary. She was out of the way of the fire, but she ran in to look for me. I left the church and stood outside. My brother ran in to go get people out, and Jessica ran in to get me out, and I just stood there, waiting.”

 

Gabriel shook his head. “And you’re alive because of that. Dean would probably be in some nursing home right now, depressed and alone without you. You can’t sit around and think about what could have happened if things were different. You’re never going to convince me that any of that was your fault, so you can quit trying now.” He crossed his arms. “You put too much pressure on yourself. Just cut yourself a little slack, okay?”

 

Sam sighed. “Alright. I can try.” He stared at the table for a moment before changing the subject. “What got you into baking?”

 

Gabriel knew it was time to change the subject, so he went along with it. “My mom. We used to bake everything together. Thanksgiving and Christmas were the best times, because we would spend hours in the kitchen together. It always took forever to make enough for everyone. I have a massive family.”

 

Sam smiled softly as he listened to Gabriel. “Lots of cousins?”

 

Gabriel nodded. “That, and I have six siblings, including Cas.”

 

Sam’s eyes went wide. “You have six siblings?!”

 

Gabriel chuckled and nodded. “Michael, Luke, Balthazar, Hannah, Anna, and Castiel. Michael is the oldest, then Luke, Cas, Balth, me, and Hannah and Anna are twins.”

 

“Wow. I can’t imagine that. I felt crowded growing up with just one brother. Maybe my brother is just especially annoying.”

 

Gabriel chuckled. “God, mine are the worst. Cas is good. We actually got along most of the time. I haven’t spoken to the others in...three years? Almost four years now.”

 

Sam frowned a bit. He didn’t ask why. “That’s good that you and Cas are close. Also, I keep meaning to tell you, running a business by yourself is really impressive. I don’t actually know how old you are, but I know you’re really young for a business owner.”

 

Gabriel smiled a bit. “I’m twenty three. If it weren’t for Cas, I couldn’t have done it. He worked through college and we built up a fund together to open the bakery. He went to Kansas State for three years for undergrad, and he did three years of school to become a physical therapist. He worked side jobs the whole time. I did a two year business degree so that I would know what I was doing. It took about a year after that to get all my ducks in a row, and then I opened the shop. It took off pretty well. Recently, it’s gotten really busy. Word must have gotten around.”

 

Sam smiled. “That’s awesome. I noticed that the crowds in there have gotten bigger.”

 

Gabriel nodded. “It’s been great.” His eyes drifted when he noticed when he saw a diploma hanging on the wall of the apartment that he hadn’t noticed yet. His eyes went wide. “Holy shit, you graduated from Stanford?!”

 

Sam looked back at his diploma and then back at Gabriel. “Oh, yeah I did.”

 

“What was your major?”

 

“Criminal Justice with a minor in Pagan studies. I was going to law school there too but...yeah. Life.”

 

Gabriel nodded. “I wish I had an answer for you to get to go back to law school. You’d be great.”

 

Sam gave a small smile. “I wish I had an answer too, but right now I can’t. Cas would have to be here full time, and I’d have to be a full time student, and keeping working a full time job. I don’t have enough time or money.”

 

Gabriel nodded a bit. “I think you’ll be able to do it one day. Don’t give up on it.” He got a text and checked his phone. “Sorry, that’s Cas. We’re going back to Chicago to visit our mom this weekend.”

 

“Wait, Cas will be gone for the weekend?”

 

Gabriel nodded. “He will, but he’ll send someone else to take care of Dean while he’s gone. I’m surprised he hasn’t told you yet.”

 

“Dean probably knows. Cas will probably leave me a note tonight or something.” He paused. “I thought you hadn’t spoken to your family in three years?”

 

Gabriel nodded. “I haven’t spoken to my siblings. I’m still close with my mom, I guess until recently.” He looked down at the table. “She has Alzheimer’s, early onset. She’s had it for five years, but it’s gotten a lot worse. We’ve been trying to plan a trip to see her for weeks. Cas wouldn’t just leave, I promise. We just...We want to say goodbye. The doctors are saying she might not even make it to this weekend, so this is our last chance to see her.”

 

“God, Gabe, I’m so sorry. That sucks.”

 

Gabriel nodded. “Yeah, it really sucks, but I’ve known it was coming for the past five years. I’ve had time to prepare, but it’s still too soon.” he had a somber look on his face, but it turned into a smile. “Hopefully I don’t kill my brothers while I’m there.”

 

Sam blinked. Castiel wasn’t lying when he said that Gabriel could smile through anything. “I hope so too. I never really knew my mom, so I can’t say that I know what it’s like to lose one. Don’t say you’re sorry. I was six months old when she died, so I don’t remember anything. I have several family friends that are like moms to me.”

 

“I’m glad you had them. Moms are pretty awesome, most of the time. I’ve known people with crappy moms, but I know a lot of amazing women that step up and take motherless children under their wing. Women like that are heroes.”

 

“That’s one of the truest things I’ve heard in a long time. Men that step up to be fathers are just as good.” Sam was thinking about Bobby as he said that.

 

Gabriel nodded quickly. “I couldn’t agree more. We need more people like that in the world.” He hummed and pulled a lollipop out of his coat pocket, pulling the wrapper off and popping it into his mouth.

 

Sam furrowed his brows. “Where do you even get those? You have one almost every time I see you.”

 

Gabriel chuckled. “I buy them in giant bags and keep a couple in my pockets. It’s not just a sugar addiction, I’m hypoglycemic. These have been the best solution for me. They’re convenient, portable, and they don’t have an obscene amount of calories, like most desserts do.”

 

“Don’t they mess up your teeth?”

 

“I just brush an extra time in the afternoon, and that usually keeps it in check. I did get a lot of cavities as a kid, but not so much now. I haven’t had one since I was sixteen.”

 

Sam nodded. “Well, if it works, it works.”

 

Gabriel nodded and smiled a bit, looking at the time. “I should probably get back to the bakery. We usually get a big rush after lunchtime, and poor Alfie can only handle so much before he has a nervous breakdown. Poor kid used to work at the Weiner Hut. It was good to see you, Sam. Come by the bakery anytime. I’m there everyday, all day. Except this weekend. We’ll be closed this weekend.”

 

Sam nodded and stood up to let Gabriel out. “I will. It was good to talk to you.” He walked to the door and opened it for him. 

 

Gabriel walked to the door and looked over his shoulder. “Take care of yourself, Sammy.”

 

Sam chuckled. “Do me a favor, don’t call me that. It’s Sam.”

 

Gabriel smiled. “Okay, Sam. See ya around.” 

 

Sam closed the door, still smiling a little. He felt like his spirits were lifted after talking to him. For whatever reason, talking to Gabriel or even just listening to him made him feel better. Maybe they could be friends, after all. 


	3. Phone Calls and Cherry Pie

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay on this chapter. I ended up combining two chapters so here's an ultra long one for you. There may be an even longer delay before the next chapter. I was going to pre-write over my Thanksgiving break (which was only four days long :( ) but on Thanksgiving, my grandfather died. He was like a second father to me, and losing him was heartbreaking. I still feel so lost without him in my life anymore. On top of that, my finals are in two weeks and now that I've missed classes I have to hit the ground running to catch up. I haven't even started on the next Golden Days chapter, so if you're waiting for that, it's going to be a few weeks before that comes up. Thank you for all your support. If you like my writing, go follow me on tumblr (deaniewithalittleweanie.tumblr.com). I write drabbles on there all the time and post life updates, so you may get a better timeline of when new chapters will be out.

Sam was right about Castiel leaving a note. It was more of a letter, really. Castiel gave all of the information and qualifications for the caretaker who would be replacing him for the weekend, but he didn’t include why he had to leave. He was also right in assuming that Dean knew. Apparently he had known for a week that Castiel was planning on leaving for a weekend. He knew about his mom too. He said that Castiel was really torn up about it. 

 

The weekend was here before he knew it. He wanted to meet the weekend caretaker, so on Friday, he was scheduled an hour later than usual. The caretaker was a woman named Meg. She went to physical therapy school with Castiel and they were good friends. Dean was cagey around her, but he let her work, thank god. Sam felt better after he had met her and saw that Dean was going to let her help him. 

 

Work was particularly bad. Sam was carrying a massive tray of milkshakes and didn’t see a guy’s leg sticking out from a booth. He tripped and spilled everything all over himself and the floor. It took him half an hour to clean up, and he had to wear a spare uniform that was too small for the rest of the night. It was insanely busy, and one of the teenagers that worked there left in the middle of her shift, so Sam had double the tables he usually would. This meant that he made a lot more in tips, but that he was so strung thin that he had more complaints than usual. He walked slowly back to the apartment, head hanging with exhaustion. 

 

Right before he got back, his phone started to ring. He didn’t even look at who was calling before answering. “Hello?”

 

“Sam?” There was a little sniffle.

 

Sam furrowed his brows and looked at who was calling. “Gabriel? You alright?”

 

“...No. I’m sorry, I shouldn’t be calling you. It’s the middle of the night and you must be exhausted and-”

 

“No, no, it’s okay. You didn’t wake me up or anything. I’m still walking back to the apartment.”

 

“Oh, okay.”

 

Sam paused outside of the apartment. “What’s going on?”

 

“Nothing, really. I just...I don’t know. I just wanted someone to talk to. Cas is asleep and he’s been in a horrible mood all day, so I don’t have the heart to wake him up.”

 

“I had coffee an hour ago to keep me awake, so I’ll be up for about another hour before I crash. What do you want to talk about?”

 

Gabriel smiled a bit. Sam was so good, too good. “I don’t know. Anything.”

 

“How are your siblings?”

 

“Horrible. I just now got over a headache from listening to them fight all day. It was mostly Michael and Luke. I tried to break it up, but then they yelled at me for a while. I remember why I left.”

 

Sam nodded. “That doesn’t sound like fun. Did you get to see your mom?”

 

“Yeah, I did.” He sighed. “It was hard. Last time I saw her, it was a Skype call, a few months ago. She was spacey and she didn’t remember a word I said, but she was still there. Today, she didn’t know who anyone was. She doesn’t even know her own name. She’s scared, I can tell. At this point, it seems cruel to keep her alive.”

 

Sam listened and frowned. God, he couldn’t even imagine living like that. “Yeah. I’m glad you got to go. I know fighting with siblings sucks, but you’re there for your mom.”

 

“Yeah. I just wish she knew I was even there.” Gabriel sighed. “How was work?”

 

“God, it sucked. I worked an hour less than usual and it was still bad. One of the girls there left in the middle of her shift, so I got all of her tables. I usually like having extra tables, but it was so many, and I felt like I was getting stretched thin.”

 

“Yikes. That doesn’t sound like fun. I’ll bet you made lots of pity tips, though.”

 

“I did. Close to three hundred dollars.”

 

“Wow. Nice.” He heard a grumble from the bed next to him and looked at Castiel, who was staring at him with an unapproving glare. “I should probably let you go. Cas and I are sharing a hotel room and I just woke him up. I’m gonna hang up before he murders me.”

 

Sam chuckled. “Alright. I’ll talk to you later then.”

 

“Talk to you later.” Gabriel hung up and looked at Castiel. “Sorry. I got lonely.”

 

“Who were you talking to?”

 

“Sam.”

 

“Really?”

 

“Yeah. I didn’t think he would answer, to be honest, but he did.”

 

Castiel hummed. “Be careful, Gabriel. Three months ago, he was supposed to be married. He won’t be ready to start anything for a while, so if nothing happens, don’t beat yourself up.”

 

“I’m not thinking about that. He needs a friend right now.”

 

“So do you. I’m glad you’re talking with him. Just don’t do it at 2am so I can get some sleep.”

 

Gabriel chuckled. “Night, Cas.” He laid down in bed and went to sleep. 

 

Meanwhile, Sam was taking a quick shower. He went to the couch and sat down, ready to go to sleep. Unfortunately, sleep never came. He was so tired, but sleep just refused to come to him. He watched in dismay as the sun came up and his alarm went off to go get Dean up and to the restroom. 

 

Today, Dean was especially grumpy. Sam could only guess it was because Castiel wasn’t there. He got him to the restroom and then into his chair and in front of the TV. Sam laid back down on the couch and tried desperately to sleep, but no matter what he did, it wouldn’t happen. The sounds of the TV became more and more grating to him. “Hey, could you maybe turn the TV down?”

 

Dean looked back at Sam. “Sure.” He turned the volume up.

 

Sam frowned. “Dean, I’m serious. I’m trying to sleep.” the TV only got louder. Sam huffed and put a pillow over his head. “Dude, turn it down. It’s too loud.”

 

Dean threw up a middle finger and cranked up the volume.

 

Sam sat up and threw the pillow at Dean. “What the hell is wrong with you?! Turn the fucking TV down!”

 

Dean’s eyes widened and he looked up at Sam. “What the hell is wrong with you? Leave me alone.” He looked back at the TV.

 

Sam lost control. He grabbed the remote out of Dean’s hand and turned the TV off before putting the remote on top of a high cabinet so that Dean couldn’t get to it. He threw himself down onto the couch again. 

 

Dean glared at Sam. “What the fuck?!” He reached over and grabbed a book from the table and chucked it at Sam. “Give it back!”

 

Sam winced when the large book hit him in the back. “No! I’m trying to sleep and you’re being an asshole.”

 

“I’m the asshole? You’re the one that just hid the remote from the paralyzed guy!” 

 

Sam curled up on the couch and put a pillow over his head. “Leave me alone, please.”

 

Dean was fuming. He drove over to the couch and grabbed Sam’s arm, trying to yank him off of the couch.

 

Sam turned and shoved Dean back into his chair. “Don’t touch me!”

 

“Give me the remote back.”

 

“No, you were being a dick. I didn’t get a wink of sleep last night.”

 

Dean picked up a pillow and started hitting Sam over the head with it. 

 

Sam didn’t understand. Dean was usually pretty quiet and respectful when Sam needed sleep, but the one day he needed it the most, Dean was being an obnoxious douchebag. He couldn’t take it anymore. He got up and stormed out of the apartment, slamming the door closed. The door opened into the apartment, so he knew it was pretty much impossible for Dean to open it. Sam sat down outside of the door and dragged his hands over his face. 

 

The neighboring apartment door opened and a woman stepped outside, looking at Sam. 

 

Sam saw her and his eyes widened. “Oh god, I’m so sorry about the noise. You’ve must have heard us yelling.”

 

The woman shook her head. “No, I’m deaf. Are you okay? I felt the wall shake when you closed the door.”

 

Sam blinked. The entire time he’d been here, he never knew that their neighbor was deaf. He had seen her a few times, but he hadn’t ever met her. “Oh, yeah I’m okay. My brother and I were just arguing. I don’t know if we’ve ever met before. I’m Sam.”

 

The woman nodded and sat down in front of Sam so that she could see his face well enough to read his lips. “I’m Eileen. I saw you move in a few months ago.”

 

Sam nodded. “Yeah, I moved here to take care of my brother. He lost the use of his legs in an accident.”

 

Eileen nodded. “No wonder you were fighting. I couldn’t imagine being stuck in an apartment with someone all day like that.”

 

Sam smiled a bit and nodded. “I think something’s going on with him. He’s being especially annoying today.”

 

“I hope you figure it out. If you need anything, put a note under the door. You could knock, but I won’t answer.”

 

Sam chuckled at that. “Alright.” He vaguely remembered the sign for ‘thank you’, so he attempted it.

 

Eileen held back a laugh. She didn’t have the heart to tell Sam that he just signed ‘fuck you’. She just signed back, ‘you’re welcome’, and stood up, returning to her apartment.

 

Sam leaned back against the door, and he furrowed his brows when he heard the TV going again. He stood up and opened the door. He saw Dean in front of the TV, watching it as if nothing had happened. “How did you-”

 

Dean held up a long pole that had a grabber on the end. Castiel had given it to him a few days ago so that if he dropped something, he could pick it back up. It worked for getting remotes off of tall cabinets too, apparently. 

 

Sam sighed and closed the door. He sat down on the couch. “Are you alright?”

 

Dean looked confused. “You’re the one who can’t sleep. Why are you asking me?”

 

“You’re being way more of a dick than usual.”

 

Dean was quiet. He turned down the TV volume low enough so that Sam could sleep and didn’t answer.

 

Sam frowned. Something was definitely going on. All he could do now though was sleep. He wasn’t any good to Dean if he was too exhausted to do anything. He laid down on the couch and closed his eyes. 

 

~~~

 

Sam woke up a few hours later and saw that Dean was still in the same spot. He rubbed his eyes, still exhausted, but the three hours was enough for now. He heard Dean mumble something and tilted his head. “Huh?”

 

“I’m killing you.”

 

Sam knit his brows together. “What? Why would you say that?”

 

Dean looked back at Sam. “Have you looked in a mirror lately? You eat maybe one meal a day, you work your ass off, you barely sleep, and it shows.”

 

“What does that have to do with you?”

 

“You’d be in law school right now if it weren’t for me. You gave up on your dreams to come live in my shitty apartment and work a shitty job.”

 

Sam frowned. “Of course I did. You needed help.”

 

“I don’t need any damn help.”

 

“Dean...I know how hard the past few months have been for you, but you  _ need  _ help. You really need it. You’ve lost the use of half of your body. You can’t walk, or move from that chair to the bed by yourself. You can’t get pull doors open without a lot of difficulty, if it’s possible at all. I’m not saying this to put you down. It’s just the reality of your life. It’s okay to need help, and now that you and Cas-“

 

“We’re not.”

 

Sam blinked, and suddenly everything made sense. Something happened between them. “What happened? Everything was good on Thursday, from what I heard.”

 

“It was just, some stuff Meg said. It’s fine. I’ve already started looking at other options.”

 

“You’re firing Cas over something Meg said? What did she say?”

 

“I don’t have a choice. The company Cas works for, if they found out about us, he’d lose everything. He’d lose his job, his credibility, everything. I have to get him away from me before I ruin him too.”

 

Sam’s heart sank at that. “You can’t fire, Cas. I’m not going to argue with you about your relationship with him, because you’re just going to get all pissy and stubborn. What I will do is tell you that we can’t afford to fire him. I already give him more than half of what I make every week, and the other therapists I’ve looked at around here cost close to double what I pay Cas. So work it out, because we don’t have a choice.” 

 

“So you want me to just pretend that I don’t have feelings for him?”

 

“That’s not what I said. I told you to work it out. Find a way to keep it a secret. Don’t just give up.”

 

Dean sighed. “I already found something.”

 

“You couldn’t have-“

 

“The settlement check came in. It’s more than half a million dollars. It’s enough to take me somewhere. There’s this home in Topeka, only about thirty minutes away. It looked...nice. Cheapest option in the area. Then you could take the rest of the money and go back to law school. You wouldn’t have to worry about me anymore.”

 

Sam’s eyes were wide. First of all, that was a lot of money. More than enough. Then there was Dean’s idea. “That’s...that’s the stupidest thing I’ve heard you say in a long time.” He rubbed his hand over his face. “Here’s what we’re going to do. With that money, we’re buying a van to get you around so that we can go more than a quarter mile down the road. Then, I’m looking at houses. Nothing big. Just a little one story place. The rest is going into savings. We’ll tap into it when we need to. With that, I can take more days off and we can schedule Cas for more hours, so maybe I could start taking classes.”

 

Dean looked at Sam and furrowed his brows. He saw something in Sam that had been gone ever since the fire: hope. He couldn’t say no to those puppy eyes even if he tried. “Fine.”

 

Sam gave a small smile and picked up his laptop to research houses and vans. 

 

~~~

 

Work that night was much less stressful. As Sam was walking home, Gabriel called him again. Sam answered as soon as he saw who it was. “Hey, Gabriel.”

 

“Hey, Sam.” Gabriel’s voice was quiet. “My mom’s funeral is tomorrow morning.”

 

Sam sighed. “I’m so sorry.”

 

Gabriel rubbed his face. He was standing outside of the hotel so that he wouldn’t wake up Castiel. “It’s okay. That’s why I came in the first place, to say goodbye. I thought I was going to have to stay longer, but Michael had made loose arrangements, knowing what was about to happen. She went in her sleep, about an hour after we talked yesterday.”

 

Sam nodded. “I’m glad it was peaceful. It’s still awful, but at least she’s not in pain anymore. I don’t know how religious you are-“

 

“A little. I was raised Catholic. I’m sure you’ve noticed that all of my siblings are named after angels. So yeah, I believe that she’s in a better place, if that’s what you’re saying.”

 

“Yeah, that’s what I was getting at. Are you doing alright?”

 

“As alright as I can be. Thanks for talking to me.”

 

“No problem. I’ve had to use my customer service voice for the past eight hours so it’s nice to talk normally again.”

 

Gabriel smiled a little. “What does your customer service voice sound like? I think I got a glimpse of it when you served me.”

 

Sam smiled a bit. “Hi, my name is Sam and I’ll be your server today.” He said in a perfect, sing-song, customer service voice. 

 

Gabriel laughed. “That sounds nothing like you.”

 

“What’s your customer service voice?”

 

“Don’t have one. I just talk casually to customers. I don’t have to rely on tips so kissing up to every customer isn’t required. I know they’ll come back just for the food and for my hilarious jokes.”

 

Sam chuckled. “I think they come back mostly for the food.”

 

“Oooh, someone’s feeling sassy. You saying my jokes aren’t funny?”

 

“Guess I haven’t heard many of them.”

 

“How do you make a clown sad?” 

 

Sam furrowed his brows. “Um...I don’t know?”

 

“You kill his family.”

 

“Jesus, Gabriel, that’s dark.” Sam laughed. 

 

“It’s still funny.” Gabriel smiled. “How’s Dean doing? I heard that Meg is there. She’s a handful.”

 

“Could be better. He’s a little freaked out, but I think he’ll be better when Cas is back. I haven’t talked to Meg much.”

 

Gabriel nodded. “I don’t blame him. I like Meg, don’t get me wrong. She just has...history, with Cas. Not very good history. Cas trusts her, though.”

 

“History?”

 

“They dated. Not for very long. It was in college. They had a nasty breakup after Cas realized he was gay. It took awhile, but they started talking again and became good friends.”

 

“Oh, wow. Yeah, that’s not good history. I trust Cas’s judgement, though.”

 

“Yeah, she’s a great physical therapist and she’s good with clients.” Gabriel hummed. “Man, I miss the bakery. I’m going into baking withdrawal here.”

 

Sam smiled softly. “Just one more day and you’ll be home. I’ll bring Dean by on Monday to get some pie.”

 

“Come later in the morning. I won’t get back until late tomorrow night and I’ll have to bake the entire stock overnight. If you come later in the morning, I’ll definitely have everything done by then. I may wait until nine or ten to open. I usually open at seven to serve breakfast foods, but I may have to delay it so that I can finish making everything.”

 

Sam nodded. “Okay. You sure? You’re making it sound like you’re going to stay up all night baking.”

 

“I’m sure. Baking keeps me sane. I’ll be alright.”

 

Sam nodded. “Okay. I’m going to head in and go to bed. You should do the same. I’ll see you Monday.”

 

“Yeah, see ya Monday.”

 

Sam hung up and walked into the apartment. One short shower later and he was passed out on the couch.

 

~~~

 

Sam got up early Monday morning. He had decided that he needed to do some kind of workout to get back in shape, so he signed up for a yoga class. He liked yoga in college, so it would be nice to go back. Once he had Dean fed and set up in front of the TV, he left for the class. He had to drive there, since it was farther than just downtown. He parked next to a car that looked strangely familiar, though he couldn’t pin it down. He walked inside and smiled at the little studio. There were three other students waiting. Two blonde women were chatting on one end of the room, and a redheaded woman was on her phone. Sam felt like he had seen her in the bakery before. She had a Harry Potter shirt on. The bathroom door opened and Sam smiled as he saw a very familiar face. Castiel walked out and went straight over to the redhead. She took her headphones out and started chatting with Castiel happily. Sam walked over to them with a shy smile.

 

Castiel saw someone approaching, and he smiled when he saw Sam. “Sam, I didn’t know you came here.”

 

“Today’s my first day. Dean thinks I look like a beanpole so I’m going to try and work out a little more.” 

 

Castiel smiled and nodded. “This is a great way to start. It keeps me in shape and helps my back, which takes a good bit of strain from lifting people all day.” He looked at the redhead. “Charlie, this is Sam. He’s Dean’s brother.”

 

Charlie smiled at Sam. “Hey, Sam. I’ve heard a lot about you and Dean. It’s great to finally meet you.”

 

Sam smiled. “It’s great to meet you too.”

 

The instructor was a bubbly blonde woman named Becky, who was definitely staring at Sam most of the time. Sam enjoyed the class a lot. It got more advanced as the class went on. Charlie told Sam that as soon as it got too advanced to just stop before he hurt himself. Sam ended up stopping towards the end and going to the side to stand with Charlie. He watched in awe as Castiel held up his entire body on his forearms, his entire body curled around and his feet touching his head. He straightened his body up again and his legs spread into a perfect middle split. Sam watched as Castiel continued on his own, Becky having tapped out. He contorted his body in ways that Sam didn’t even know were possible. He moved gracefully, still displaying a lot of strength. Sam guessed that it made sense that Castiel was extremely strong, given that he lifted people all day, every day.

 

The class ended and Castiel walked up to Sam, smiling softly. 

 

“Dude, I had no idea you were so flexible.” Sam chuckled.

 

“I try to practice regularly. I think it keeps me sane. I brought Gabriel here once, and he sprained his ankle, so he has refused to come back. I tried to get him to come today, but the poor kid worked all night to make his entire stock again. He said you and Dean were planning on stopping by today.”

 

Sam nodded. “Yeah, Dean loves the pie there, and I just wanted to check in on Gabriel.”

 

Castiel smiled softly. “Thank you for that. How did Dean do this weekend?”

 

Sam blinked. He wondered if Castiel and Dean spoke at all over the weekend. “Honestly, not the best. He’ll be happy to have you back.”

 

Castiel nodded. “I’m glad to be back.” He checked the time. “I have to be at a client’s house in an hour. It was good to see you, Sam.”

 

Sam smiled. “You too, Cas.” He walked outside and saw Castiel walk up to the car he recognized earlier. “Ah, that’s where I know that car from.”

 

Castiel looked at Sam and smiled a bit. “Dean calls it my ‘pimpmobile’. I like it.” He got into his car.

 

Sam got into the impala and drove back to the apartment. He went inside and led Dean out so they could head to the bakery. On the way there, Sam told Dean about the yoga class.

 

Upon arriving at the bakery, it looked empty. The door was unlocked, but no one was inside. Sam looked around, and he could smell something burning. “Gabriel?” He looked behind the counter and didn’t see him. 

 

Dean looked around as well. “Something’s burning back there.”

 

Sam opened the little door by the counter and walked behind it. He opened the door to the kitchen and looked around. There were wisps of smoke coming from the oven, which set of panic alarms within Sam. He ran over and turned the oven off before opening it. Inside was a charred cake. Sam used a towel to fan the smoke, luckily there wasn’t much. He looked around and saw a figure slumped on the counter. Gabriel was sitting on a stool, body flat on the counter as he slept. Sam walked over and gently rubbed his back. “Gabriel?”

 

Gabriel’s eyes shot open and he sat up, breathing heavily. The first thing he saw was the open oven and the burnt cake. “Godammit…”

 

“Hey, it’s okay. You can make another one.”

 

Gabriel looked up at Sam. “How long have I been out?”

 

“I just got here. I don’t know. Dean and I came in and I could smell something burning. I came back here and turned the oven off.”

 

Gabriel rubbed his eyes and sighed. “Must have been a few hours. Last I checked it was seven am.”

 

“It’s ten now.”

 

Gabriel slowly stood up and walked over to the oven. He slipped on some oven mitts and took the pan out, setting it on a cooling rack. “Thank god I only had one oven going. That was one of the last things I needed.” He tossed the oven mitts onto the counter. “Let’s get your brother some pie.” Just like that, he was smiling and looked like his normal self. It was pretty unnerving for Sam to watch. He followed Gabriel out of the kitchen and walked back out to the main floor to stand by Dean, who looked relieved when he saw both of them. 

 

“Everything alright?”

 

Gabriel smiled at Dean. “It’s great. Just dozed off for a minute there. Let me guess, cherry pie?”

 

Dean nodded. “You know it.”

 

Gabriel pulled on a pair of serving gloves and got Dean a slice of cherry pie with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

 

Sam paid for the pie and looked at Gabriel. “Come sit and chat with us.” 

 

Gabriel looked wary for a second before smiling and nodded. “Sure thing. Want some breakfast? I have croissants.” He picked one up for himself.

 

Sam smiled. “Sure.” 

 

Gabriel grabbed another croissant and walked over to the table where Dean had parked himself. He tossed his serving gloves in a trash can and picked up his croissant to eat.

 

Sam sat down and started eating as well. It had been awhile since he ate a proper breakfast, so this was nice. Dean was enjoyed his breakfast pie, so all was well, except for the fact that Sam was staring at Gabriel worriedly. 

 

Gabriel didn’t notice until he looked at Sam to say something and paused with his mouth open. “Jeez, Sam. You’re staring at me like I’m a hurt puppy.”

 

Sam blinked and looked away. “Sorry. You just scared me, is all.”

 

Gabriel shrugged. “No need to worry about me. I’m doing great.”

 

Sam furrowed his brows. He could see the clear bags under Gabriel’s eyes, his bed head, his bloodshot eyes, and his plastered on smile. “You don’t look great. Did you really stay up all night?”

 

Gabriel blinked. He wasn’t used to people asking him things like this. “Well, yeah. I have a business to run. I can’t serve stale goods from Thursday.”

 

“You could have slept last night and baked today, then opened tomorrow. I know you haven’t been sleeping much all weekend. You were still up at two am when I was walking back from work.”

 

Gabriel frowned, brows cinched together. “Since when do you care how much sleep I get?”

 

“I don’t know, maybe since you became my friend?”

 

“You know, you got really mad at me when I felt bad for you. Now you’re doing the exact same thing to me.”

 

“Not really. You were asking me on pity dates. I’m offering you advice so that you can get some sleep and feel better.” Sam crossed his arms. 

 

Dean stared at the two of them, feeling very out of place. “Jesus, you guys fight like an old married couple.”

 

Sam looked at Dean. “As if you don’t do the same thing with Cas.”

 

Dean chuckled. “You saying that you and Gabe are in the same relationship as me and Cas?” 

 

Sam’s cheeks flushed and he fumbled over his words, unable to get a clear sentence out. 

 

Dean’s eyes widened a bit at that reaction. Oh, yes, he was going to lay into Sam about that later. “I’m kidding. Just finish your croissant so we can go home and I can finish the season finale of Dr. Sexy.”

 

Gabriel grinned. “You watch Dr. Sexy?”

 

Dean nodded. “When you’re stuck in front of a tv for most of the day, you tend to pick shows that have a ridiculous amount of episodes. I’m about to finish season fourteen. Season fifteen premieres soon and I plan on watching it.”

 

Gabriel chuckled. “I’ve only seen the first couple seasons.” He hummed. “I should get back to the kitchen.” He looked at Sam, staring for a moment before leaving the table. 

 

As soon as he was gone, Dean had a shit-eating grin on his face. “You have a crush.”

 

Sam scowled. “I do not!”

 

Dean laughed. “I know that look, and that tone of your voice. Man, I’m not pressuring you to do anything until you’re ready, but bottling it up isn’t going to help either.”

 

Sam rolled his eyes and opened the bakery door for Dean, letting him out. He put his hands in his pockets. He hadn’t meant to get that flustered when Dean joked about him and Gabriel being together. He hadn’t felt like that since...since Jessica. He felt a painful tug at his heart just from thinking about her. When he thought about Gabriel, he felt that familiar fuzzy feeling in his chest and stomach. He was in quiet contemplation the whole way back to the apartment. 

 

~~~

 

Right as Sam was getting ready for work, he got a call from one of his coworkers, asking if they could have his shift. He agreed, slightly relieved that he got a night in. He told Dean that he would be staying before settling down on the couch. 

 

Dean seemed happy that Sam was home. He finished the season finale of Dr. Sexy and ranted about it to Sam for a good ten minutes.

 

Castiel walked into the apartment with a soft smile. “Hello, Dean.”

 

Dean looked over at Castiel and smiled. “Hey, Cas. Sam’s off work tonight.”

 

Sam gave a little wave from the couch.

 

Castiel waved back at Sam. “Hello, Sam. I’m sorry, if I knew you were here, I would have brought you dinner too.”

 

Sam shrugged. “Don’t worry about it. I can go out and get something.”

 

Dean grinned. “You should go get something to eat with Gabriel.” he teased, making Sam roll his eyes.

 

Castiel set a paper bag on the counter and pulled out two foam containers. “Gabriel told me that you found him asleep at the bakery. Thank you for finding him.”

 

“No problem. I’m glad I got there when I did. The oven was on.”

 

Castiel blinked. “Gabriel didn’t mention that part. I’m glad you got there too.” He handed Dean his box of food and a plastic fork. He yelped a bit when Dean grabbed his shirt and pulled him into a kiss.

 

Sam smiled a bit when he saw that, and that was when he decided that it would be best to give them some time alone, especially since Dean had that breakdown over the weekend. Sam stood up. “I’m going out to grab a bite to eat. I’ll be back in a few hours.”

 

Dean nodded. “Yeah, definitely do that. Eat a burrito. You’re too skinny. Actually, scratch that. Don’t bring your gassy ass back here if you eat a burrito.” 

 

Sam rolled his eyes and grabbed his keys, leaving the apartment. He put his keys in his pocket and started walking towards the downtown strip. As he started to pass the bakery, the door opened and Gabriel walked out, locking the door behind himself. Sam smiled softly and waved.

 

Gabriel looked to the side and grinned, waving back. “Hey. You off work tonight?”

 

Sam nodded. “Yeah, one of my coworkers really needed the extra shift. You closing early?”

 

Gabriel nodded. “Yeah. You were right. I’m exhausted. I was just heading out to get a bite to eat. Wanna come with?”

 

Sam smiled and gave a small nod. “Sure. I was just looking for food. Our brothers are a little too mushy for my taste.”

 

Gabriel chuckled and nodded. “Hard to imagine Cas being mushy, but I’ll take your word for it. C’mon, there’s a really good pub down here.” He led the way about three blocks down to a little hole-in-the-wall pub that Sam didn’t even know existed. The atmosphere was quiet and cozy. The bar had only a couple patrons, which was expected for a Monday night. Gabriel walked in like he owned the place and plopped down at a booth.

 

Sam slid into the booth on the other side. A waiter placed menus on the table and exchanged a smile with Gabriel. Sam picked up his menu to see what they had. 

 

Gabriel reached across the table and put his hand on Sam’s menu, pushing it back down to the table. “No need. I know what we’re getting.” He smiled as the waiter returned with two glasses of water. “We’ll have the spinach and artichoke dip, the pretzel bites, and a house salad.” 

 

Sam blinked as he listened to the order. That did sound good. “You come here often?”

 

Gabriel nodded. “I do.” He managed to resist the urge to tease Sam over his wording there. “Where do you like to go?”

 

Sam blinked. “Uh, I guess just work. I like the bakery.”

 

Gabriel frowned. “We’re changing that. There’s a lot of good food around here that you have to try.”

 

“You like food a lot, don’t you?”

 

“Well if I have to eat it to keep myself alive, I damn well better enjoy it.” Gabriel grinned. 

 

Sam laughed at that response. Since they had only gotten appetizers, their food arrived quickly. There was a large plate of salted soft pretzel bites with beer cheese and mustard for dipping, a big bowl of spinach and artichoke dip with tortilla chips surrounding it, and a massive bowl of salad with a light Italian looking dressing on it. Sam’s mouth watered as he looked at everything. 

 

It was relatively silent as they ate, too focused on the food to speak to one another. In no way was it awkward, just peacefully quiet. The dip was gone first, followed by the pretzel bites. The salad was devoured, mostly by Sam. Gabriel had eaten an enormous amount of pretzel bites. Sam didn’t even get a chance to look at the bill before Gabriel had paid for their dinner and was already standing up to leave. 

 

“Hate to cut our time short, but with all of those pretzels I’m going to go into a carb coma soon, and I still have to move my damn couch.”

 

“You didn’t mention having to move a couch.”

 

“Yeah, it’s this big old thing from my parents’ house. It’s been on the wrong side of the room for two months and I can’t stand it anymore. It’s in the way.”

 

Sam stood up. “I can help you move it.”

 

Gabriel shook his head. “Don’t worry about it. I’ll manage.”

 

“It’ll be a lot easier. Come on, I’m going to feel guilty about you buying me dinner, so let me do something nice.”

 

Gabriel seemed to think it over before sighing. “Alright, alright. I live in the apartment over the bakery.” He led the way out of the pub and back down the main strip. He unlocked the door to the bakery and let Sam inside before showing him back behind the counter. They went through the kitchen and took a staircase up to the second floor. Gabriel unlocked the door and held the door open for Sam. The apartment was nice. It was open concept with hardwood floors, a nice kitchen, a living room, a small dining table, and what looked to be two bedrooms and a bathroom. 

 

Sam saw immediately what Gabriel meant about the couch being wrong. It was just in the middle of the floor, like it had just been dropped there and forgotten about. “Did the movers not position it right?”

 

“Nope. They left it like that and I’ve been meaning to move it for two months.” He walked over to one side. “I even made a spot for it right there.”

 

Sam walked over to the other side and squatted down, grabbing the edge of the couch. “I’ll get this side and you get the other. On three. One. Two. Three.” He lifted his end of the couch and watched as Gabriel heaved and lifted his side as well. They shuffled over to the wall and set the couch back down in its proper place. “There. Perfect.”

 

Gabriel immediately flopped down face first onto the couch. “That was a lot of work.”

 

Sam laughed a bit. “It wasn’t too bad. You alright?”

 

Gabriel got up and nodded. “Yeah, I’m good. Thank you for helping. I probably would have put it off again and gone to sleep.”

 

“No problem.” Sam smiled a bit, and then it happened. An awkward silence fell over them while they stood in the middle of Gabriel’s apartment. No one spoke or moved for a good ten seconds. They just stared at one another, gears turning in their heads. 

 

“Are you okay, Sam?”

 

“I-I just…” Sam sighed heavily. “I’m going to be honest, I like you. I really do, but I’m so conflicted because I don’t know if I like you because I really do like you or if it’s just my emotional state fucking with me. I don’t want to lead you on or upset you because I do care about you either way...I just don’t know what to do.” Sam couldn’t look Gabriel in the eyes until he felt a hand on his arm. 

 

“Sam, what you’ve gone through is horrible. You have every right to be emotionally vulnerable and confused. You know I like you, a lot, but I’d be just as happy being your friend as I would be if we were together. I’m here for you no matter what. Whatever you need me to do, or whoever you need me to be, I’ll do it. If you need time to figure things out, take all of the time you need. I’m not going anywhere.” The next thing Gabriel knew, was that he was pulled into a giant hug. He wrapped his arms around Sam and hugged him back. “You are such a remarkable person, Sam. You don’t deserve the shitty hand life dealt you. I’ll do anything to make things better for you.” Gabriel looked up at Sam, and right then, Sam leaned down and kissed him. 

 

Sam had no idea what he was doing. It just felt right. When their lips met, holy shit it was electric. Sparks flew up his spine and he held Gabriel close, one hand on his lower back and the other cupping his face. There was a small gap between Gabriel standing there in shock before kissing back. Neither one of them could let go of each other until finally, Sam pulled back to look at Gabriel. “I-I’m sorry. I don’t know where that came from.”

 

Gabriel shook his head. “Don’t apologize. I kissed you back, didn’t I?” He smiled softly. 

 

Sam smiled back a little, letting out a soft chuckle. “Yeah, you did.” He let go of Gabriel and took a small step back out of his personal space. “You probably need some rest. It’s getting late.”

 

Gabriel nodded a little. “Yeah, it is pretty late, and I’m opening tomorrow morning. Swing by the bakery any time you like, text me if you need anything.”

 

Sam nodded. “I will. You know Dean, he’ll want more pie sometime soon. We’ll have to get together again like we did tonight. It was fun.”

 

Gabriel smiled. “Definitely. Lunch might be easier for both of us.”

 

“Yeah, lunch is easier for me. I’ll see you soon, Gabe.” 

 

“See ya, Sam.” Gabriel led Sam out of the bakery and locked up behind him. 

 

Sam walked home feeling like a teenage girl that just kissed her crush for the first time. That feeling was only interrupted when he got back to the apartment and noticed that the bedroom door was closed. Then he heard the mattress creaking in a steady rhythm and he made a face when he realized what was going on behind that door. He plugged some headphones into his phone to drown out the noise as he went to sleep, butterflies still fluttering in his stomach. 

 

~~~

 

Sam woke up in the middle of the night and looked around. He heard someone in the kitchen and frowned, wondering who it was. Castiel should have left by now, and Dean wouldn’t have been able to get out of bed on his own. Sam got up and rubbed his eyes, flicking on the light in the kitchen. He gasped and grabbed the wall when he saw Jessica in a long white nightgown, standing right there in the kitchen. Sam rubbed his eyes and pinched his arm, but nothing happened. “J-Jess?”

 

Jessica looked over at Sam and smiled. “Hey, Sam. I missed you.”

 

Sam walked over and hugged her tightly, tears streaming down his cheeks. “How are you here?”

 

“I’m here.” She touched her fingers to Sam’s forehead. 

 

Sam felt his heart drop to his stomach. Of course this wasn’t real. He was dreaming. 

 

“You’re lost. It’s okay, I would be too.”

 

“I-I don’t know what to do.”

 

“You know I’d want you to be happy, right?”

 

Sam nodded. “I know. But isn’t it too soon?”

 

“You’ve spent the last three months working yourself to death. You’re going to cut your lifespan in half if you keep going like this. He’s a way out.”

 

Sam hugged Jessica tighter. 

 

“Go and be happy, Sam. You deserve it.”

 

“Jess, I-“

 

“Sam.”

 

Sam blinked. “What?”

 

“Sam. Sam. Sam.”

 

Sam’s eyes shot open and he was on the couch again. He still had tears streaming down his face and he had kicked his blanket off. Castiel was standing over him with a hand on his shoulder. 

 

“Sam, are you alright? You were having a nightmare.”

 

Sam wiped his eyes. “I-It wasn’t a nightmare.” He looked at the time. “You’re spending the night?”

 

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to impose. Dean asked me to.”

 

“No, it’s okay. I just didn’t know. Was I talking in my sleep?”

 

“Nothing coherent. I woke up to use the restroom and heard you out here. You were mumbling and tossing and turning. I was worried you would throw yourself off the couch.” Castiel explained. 

 

Sam nodded. “Thanks. How’s Dean?”

 

“Good. He was very concerned about our relationship, but I assured him that my superiors are already aware and I have everything sorted. I did need to speak with you about that, because it does mean that a lot has to change.”

 

“Oh, okay. Like what?”

 

“I can no longer accept payment from you, Sam. You’re essentially paying me to be his romantic partner and I can’t do that. It’s also against company policy.”

 

“Oh...so I need to find a new caretaker? Can you refer someone?”

 

Castiel quickly shook his head. “Oh no, I never said I wouldn’t still be coming. I’ll still come at night to do what I usually do. I have other clients now in the morning and afternoons, so I’m still working. I’ll just keep my evenings open for Dean. I much prefer to work in the mornings anyways, so this works out. And there was one other thing. The house I live in is fully wheelchair accessible. My very first client was one I lived with full time. When he passed away, he left me his house in his will, because I was planning on living with Gabriel whenever he passed. He had cancer, so we had discussed that. If Dean and I’s relationship becomes more serious, I want him to move in with me. He would have triple the space he does now, I would be there early in the morning and all evening and night, and because of how accessible the house is, Dean would be able to do almost everything by himself. Also, you’d be able to sleep in an actual bed every night. This couch must be killing your back. I’ve discussed this with Dean, and he’s very open to the idea. He just wants me to spend the night for a little while so that he can see if he’d be okay with sharing the bed with me. So far, so good.”

 

Sam’s jaw had been hanging open the whole time. He couldn’t believe what Castiel was offering here. “But, if he moved in with you, you’d have to do everything for him, all the time.”

 

“You don’t think I want to?”

 

Sam blinked. “Oh. Wow...I could...I could go back to school.”

 

Castiel nodded. “You could.” He smiled softly. “You could work during the day too, instead of that night shift.”

 

Sam was in awe. He loved his brother so dearly, but if Dean was with Castiel, Sam could go back to school and get away from that awful diner job. “Thank you.”

 

Castiel smiled. “Thank you for introducing me to Dean. He is very special to me, and I want to give him the best.” He stood back up. “I’m going to head back to bed before Dean realizes I’m not there. I’ll see you in the morning.”

 

“Yeah, see you in the morning.” Sam laid back down once Castiel had left and sighed. Things were finally coming together. 


	4. Sunshine

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Holy shit, I'm so sorry for the two month hiatus. I promise this chapter is worth the wait. Thank you for hanging in there with me. I've started the destiel part of this fic, and I plan on releasing it once this fic is finished.

Sam found himself constantly thinking about the event that he had dubbed “the couch moving kiss”. He was pretty busy with work, but with their settlement check, he was able to take one day a week off to go to his yoga class and work out at a local gym. Not paying Castiel anymore made a massive difference, and Sam was able to invest in good groceries to start eating better. 

 

Two weeks passed like this, and that was when Dean announced he was officially moving in with Castiel. Sam was the one to drive the van to the address Castiel provided. The neighborhood was only a few miles away from the apartment and the house was pretty. It was clear that Castiel put a lot of effort into the yard. There were flowers everywhere and the shrubbery was well-trimmed. The steps also had a ramp, and the garage was easily wheelchair accessible. The inside was even better. Everything was formatted to accommodate someone with limited mobility. Even the toilet was modified. It was the same height as Dean’s chair and it had bars surrounding it. All Dean had to do to get to it was put one arm rest down on his chair up and slide over to the toilet. His pants looked like jeans, but they had an elastic top, which made them easy for Dean to remove on his own. 

 

Castiel was ecstatic to have Dean moving in. He had planned a full dinner date in the new house for them, which led to Sam being ushered out faster than he expected. With nothing to do and an apartment to himself now, he decided to go grab something to eat. He remembered that delicious house salad from the pub and decided to go get one. 

 

Sam parked in the lot behind the pub and put his hands in his pockets as he went inside. He saw the sign that read ‘Please Seat Yourself’ and walked in to find somewhere to sit. It was a Friday night and the bar was pretty packed. Sam sat down at a high top table near the bar. He was impressed by the service when he was almost immediately brought a glass of water and handed a menu. He looked it over just in case, but he knew he wanted the dinner portion of that salad. The homemade dressing was too good to resist. 

 

Sam looked around a little when he heard a familiar laugh from somewhere in the bar. He looked around a little before spotted Gabriel at the other end, laughing over a glass of some fruity cocktail. There was a man next to him with an arm around his shoulders. They were ogling each other like lovestruck teenagers. Sam felt a painful tug in his chest, but he didn’t know why. All that happened was a brief kiss two weeks ago and they hadn’t spoken since. Gabriel is an adult. He can do what he wants...but why did it hurt so bad? Sam sighed and looked down at his water. Why did he come here? Was he secretly hoping that he would see Gabriel again, maybe they could talk again. Now he was just here, alone. 

 

Sam ordered his salad with grilled chicken on it when the server came back around. He glanced back over to where Gabriel was sitting. Gabriel’s cheek were flushed and he looked drunk. He was looking at the guy on his left, and that was when Sam saw the guy on his right quickly slip something into Gabriel’s drink. Sam’s eyes widened and he looked to see if anyone else noticed. No one seemed to have seen what Sam saw. He had no choice to to get Gabriel out of there. He got up and walked over to the bar. He put a hand on Gabriel’s shoulder. “Hey, man.”

 

Gabriel looked back over his shoulder and grinned up at Sam. “Hey! Sammy!” He chuckled. “Whatcha doin’ here?”

 

“Just grabbing some dinner. Come sit with me.”

 

Gabriel smiled. “Lemme finish this drink.” He picked up his glass and went to drink it, but Sam took it away first. “Hey, that’s mine.” he whined. The man that had laced the drink looked at Sam and narrowed his eyes. He stood up, ignoring the fact that he was much shorter than Sam and probably shouldn’t be confronting him.

 

“The hell is your problem? It’s his drink. Why’re you taking it?”

 

Sam looked at the guy and frowned. “He’s clearly intoxicated, and I think he’s had enough. If you’re worried about it going to waste, why don’t you drink it?” he held the glass out to the man.

 

The man looked at the glass and then at Sam. He scowled before turning and leaving the bar. He knew not to start a fight. Fights meant cops, and the cops would find out that he slipped a roofie into the drink. 

 

Sam put the drink back down on the bar and slid it towards the bartender so that no one would touch it. He helped Gabriel up and led him over to his table. Sam was still hungry and he could eat fast. He sat Gabriel down across from him and handed him his glass of water. “Drink. Are you hungry? Think you could keep something down?”

 

Gabriel hummed and drank the water. “Had lotsa pretzel bites.” 

 

Sam nodded. “Okay.” He saw his server walking by and asked if he could have his food to go and get the check as soon as possible. He was once again impressed by the service and speediness of the kitchen when only a few minutes later, he received a box with his food and the check. Sam paid with cash and left a cash tip before standing up and putting a hand on Gabriel’s back. “Let’s get you home, alright?”

 

Gabriel slid off of his chair and stumbled a little. “Mmkay.” He followed Sam out of the pub, holding onto his upper arm. 

 

Sam kept one arm wrapped around Gabriel to make sure he didn’t stumble or fall over. He walked down the block to the bakery and tried the door. It didn’t move, so he looked at Gabriel. “Hey, can you unlock the door?”

 

Gabriel swayed a little, and it looked like he was falling asleep. 

 

Sam tried not to accidentally grope Gabriel as he felt his pockets. He found his keys and pulled them out. He unlocked the bakery door and got Gabriel inside before locking the door behind them. He put his salad in the cooler behind the counter to free up both of his arms before scooping Gabriel up. He carried him up the stairs to the apartment and walked inside. 

 

Gabriel wrapped his arms around Sam’s neck and giggled softly. He kissed Sam’s cheek and grinned. “I missed you, Sammy.” he slurred out. He had really overdone it at the pub. They guy he was with just kept giving him shot after shot and drink after drink. 

 

Sam walked into Gabriel’s bedroom and stepped over the piles over dirty clothes. He laid Gabriel down on the bed, but Gabriel wasn’t unwrapping his arms from around his neck. He gently took his hands and pulled them off. “You need to sleep.” he took the blankets and pulled them over Gabriel. Luckily for him, Gabriel was out like a light in just a few seconds. Sam looked around the bedroom and frowned. It was really clean two weeks ago, but now the place was trashed. His dirty clothes were all over the floor, there was garbage, and leftover food. Sam saw a hamper in the corner of the room and grabbed it. He started gathering the clothes off the floor and packed them all into the hamper. He carried it out of the room and looked around to see if the laundry was in the apartment. He opened a closet door and found a washer and dryer. He put in a load of laundry before going to the kitchen. He searched until he found garbage bags in a cabinet. He picked up all of the trash around Gabriel’s apartment and took the bags out behind the bakery to the dumpster. 

 

Sam finished cleaning everything up and went to go check on Gabriel. He noticed that he had rolled onto his back, so he gently rolled Gabriel onto his side. He had enough experience with drunk people to know to keep them on their side in case they vomited. If they were on their backs, they could choke on their own vomit. Sam tried to decide if it would be super invasive for him to spend the night here, but he should probably stay just to make sure Gabriel was alright. He went back down to the bakery and got his salad out of the cooler.

 

Sam walked back upstairs and sat at the kitchen table. His salad was fantastic. He ate the whole thing before tossing the garbage into the can. He checked on Gabriel one more time an saw him still fast asleep. He left the bedroom door open and walked to the living room. He laid down on the couch and closed his eyes.

 

The next morning, Sam heard retching coming from the bathroom. He rubbed his eyes before getting up and walking to the bathroom to check on Gabriel. He saw him kneeling in front of the toilet and frowned softly. He walked back out and went to the kitchen. He filled up a glass of water and looked around for some kind of electrolyte drink in the fridge. When he closed the fridge, he saw Gabriel slowly coming around the corner with a baseball bat. 

 

“Oh, thank god...I thought someone had broken in.” Gabriel sighed and set the bat aside. He rubbed his forehead.

 

Sam blinked. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you. I debated whether or not it would be weird if I stayed, but I wanted to make sure you were alright.” he held out the glass of water. “Here, you need to hydrate.”

 

Gabriel slowly took the glass of water and looked around. “You cleaned my apartment.”

 

Sam nodded a little. “I’m sorry, I just…I don’t know. I didn’t like the idea of you living like that. I didn’t know where to put your clothes, so I just folded them and left them on top of the dryer.”

 

Gabriel’s eyes widened. “Sam, you didn’t have to do any of this...I shouldn’t have even been out last night. I don’t even remember what exactly happened.” He sipped his water to get the gross taste out of his mouth from throwing up.

 

“You probably already know, but Dean moved in with Cas yesterday. I helped move Dean in, and then I needed something to eat, so I went to the pub for the salad. I saw you at the bar and you were drinking pretty heavily. The guy sitting next to you roofied your drink, so I intervened and he left. I go my food to-go and brought you home. You didn’t drink the spiked drink, by the way. I took it away before you got any of it.”

 

Gabriel blinked. “Damn...I’m glad you were there, then. Thank you.”

 

“No problem. Do you think you can eat something small and light?”

 

Gabriel thought for a moment before nodding. “Yeah, I think so.” He walked into the kitchen and opened up the cabinets. He started making himself some toast and coffee. “You want some coffee?”

 

Sam nodded a little. “Sure, sounds great.”

 

Gabriel nodded and waited for the coffee to brew. He poured two mugs and handed one to Sam. “Cream or sugar?”

 

Sam shook his head. “I’m good, thanks.” he sat down at the table with Gabriel and sipped his coffee. 

 

Gabriel was oddly silent. He felt like shit from his hangover, but even by that standard he was quiet. Finally, he spoke. “What are we?”

 

Sam looked at Gabriel. “Friends, I guess. Why do you ask?”

 

“Because we both have admitted feelings for one another, but we’re not ready for a relationship, but we do want that, maybe, so does that make us exclusive or are we seeing other people?...I don’t know.”

 

Sam thought for a moment. “I guess that’s a good question. I don’t really know either. I think...honestly I want us to be exclusive, but only if you want to be.”

 

Gabriel blinked. “You do? I mean, I want to, but would that mean that we’re dating? I don’t want to force you into anything or put any pressure on you and-”

 

“Gabriel, it’s okay, you’re not doing any of that.” Sam thought for a moment. “I have the lunch shift today, so I can do dinner tonight.”

 

“Are you asking me on a date?”

 

Sam blushed slightly. “I mean, not if you don’t want it to be.”

 

Gabriel smiled. “I’d like that. Where to?”

 

“Uhh...let me surprise you. I’ll drive. You don’t have to dress up or anything. Nowhere fancy.” 

 

Gabriel smiled and nodded. “Sure. Bakery closes at five, as per usual. Speaking of which, I need to open up shop. I have most of my stock so I should be fine to open an hour late, which isn’t great, but I don’t get a lot of business on Saturday mornings, anyways. Most people want to sleep in on Saturdays, I guess.” 

 

Sam nodded. “Okay. Need any help?”

 

“I’m good. Thanks for the offer, though. I’ll walk you out.” Gabriel led Sam out of the apartment and out of the bakery. He opened the door for him. “See you tonight.”

 

Sam smiled. “Yeah, see you tonight.” He put his hands in his pockets and started walking back towards the pub to get the impala, since he left it parked there last night. He drove back to the apartment to get ready for work.

 

~~~

 

Sam finished his shift at 5:00 sharp. Usually he had a few side jobs to do at the end of his shift, but he spread them out over the last hour of his shift so that he could leave immediately. He drove back to the apartment and took a fast, but thorough shower. He brushed his teeth, spritzed on just a little bit of cologne. Too much and it would get weird. He searched his closet for something that wasn’t a too-small hand-me-down or a ratty thrift store t-shirt. He found one polo shirt and his suit from his wedding. Neither one was really appropriate for what he had in mind. No, he didn’t need to dress up. He needed to be himself. He put on a comfortable t-shirt and a flannel. He had a few pairs of jeans that fit properly, so he put some on. He felt good. Time to execute his plan.

 

When Sam picked up Gabriel from in front of the bakery, he looked really good too. Sam was used to seeing him in a baker’s jacket and apron, so it was nice to see him dressed like this. He had on a green shirt with a black leather jacket and a nice pair of jeans and boots. He looked really nice.

 

Gabriel smiled as he got into the car. “Hey. You look good.”

 

“You look good too.” Sam smiled and started driving. 

 

“Where are we going?”

 

“It’s a surprise.” Sam grinned and kept driving. He drove out to Overlook Park, which was near the lake. He parked and got out of the car. 

 

“Overlook Park? I haven’t been here in years.” 

 

Sam got a recyclable grocery bag and a cooler out of the backseat. “The trail is pretty short, only about half a mile. Shouldn’t take more than twenty minutes to get to the overlook.”

 

Gabriel looked at Sam. “You packed food?”

 

Sam nodded. “Just some sandwiches and snacks. Nothing fancy.” He smiled softly. “Ready to walk?”

 

Gabriel smiled back and nodded. “Hell yeah.”

 

Together, they walked down the trail to the overlook. It only took them about twenty minutes to get to the overlook, which looked over the pretty lake. They could see the sun setting over the trees and the sky was shining bright orange, pink, and purple. Sam sat down on the ground and opened up the bag. He handed Gabriel a ziploc bag that had a turkey and cheese sandwich.

 

Gabriel smiled as he sat down next to Sam. “Thanks. This is nice.” He looked out at the water as he started eating. It was peaceful and quiet out here.

 

Sam ate his own sandwich and looked over at Gabriel. He slowly scooted over until they were right next to each other. His hand that was propping his body up slowly met Gabriel’s. He sneakily placed his fingers over Gabriel’s just to see what would happen. He hid a delighted smile as Gabriel’s hand turned over and held his. He got out some fruit and they shared it. There were plump strawberries, sweet pineapple, grapes, and assorted berries. It was delicious. 

 

“Thank you for bringing me here. This is beautiful.”

 

Sam smiled. “Of course. I’ve always wanted to bring someone out here.”

 

“Did you ever bring…” Gabriel paused. “Sorry, that’s so not cool of me to bring up.”

 

“It’s okay. I think I’m at a point where I can talk about it. I didn’t get the chance to come out here with Jess. I lived in Palo Alto for four years. We only got married here because Dean won’t get on a plane and we really loved the church here. I wanted to come here after the wedding, but then the fire happened.” He blinked in surprise with himself. He hadn’t talked about this since it happened. It felt good to discuss it. 

 

“You sound like you’re doing better.”

 

“You’ve helped me a lot. You make me laugh a lot and things just feel good around you.”

 

Gabriel smiled softly. “You make me really happy. You’re such a bright soul and you’re a giant ball of sunshine.” He looked up at Sam.

 

Sam looked down at Gabriel and blushed softly. “Sunshine?”

 

Gabriel nodded. “Absolutely. You are my sunshine.” 

 

Sam brought his hand up to Gabriel’s cheek and smiled softly. “Like the song?”

 

“You are my sunshine, my only sunshine, you make me happy, when skies are grey…” Gabriel’s lips brushed against Sam’s and he closed his eyes as he finally closed the distance between them and kissed him.

 

Sam’s eyes fluttered shut as he kissed Gabriel. Everything felt so good. He ran his fingers through Gabriel’s hair, feeling the soft strands between his fingers. He was so relaxed, and the weight of the world was finally off of his shoulders. He wrapped his arms around Gabriel and pulled him closer. He needed to feel this, to feel everything. 

 

Gabriel pulled back after a minute, hand resting on Sam’s cheek. “I hate to be the party pooper, but it’s getting dark and we still have to walk back.”

 

Sam blinked and looked out at the water. The sun had set and the orange light was disappearing quickly. “You’re right. Let’s get packed up.” He stood up and quickly packed up their leftover food and trash into the bag and put it over his shoulder. Gabriel took the handle of the cooler in one hand and Sam’s hand in the other. Walking back to the car was peaceful, but both of them were itching to get their hands on one another again. 

 

Sam put the bag and cooler into the backseat before getting into the driver’s seat. When Gabriel got into the car, they glanced at each other before Gabriel slid across the bench seat and kissed Sam again, this time with more fervor. Hands drifted and grabbed at clothing, and that’s when Sam tensed up and pulled away. Gabriel blinked and flushed bright red. 

 

“I-I’m sorry, I got too excited and-” Gabriel stammered.

 

“No, no, it’s okay. I just don’t want to do this in my brother’s car in the parking lot of a state park. I just want it to be special, you know?”

 

Gabriel looked like he might cry with relief. “You are such a sweet-hearted dork.” He kissed Sam’s cheek. “My place or yours?”

 

“Yours, if that’s okay. You have a nicer apartment than me.” 

 

“That’s perfectly alright with me, but you know I would be just as okay at your place.”

Sam nodded. “I know, but I still like your apartment. It’s nice and it always smells like sweets and good food.”

 

Gabriel smiled softly. “Okay. My place it is.” He sat back in his seat and buckled in as Sam started driving. 

 

Sam got back onto the main road and parked in the lot behind the bakery. He got out of the car and held a hand out to Gabriel, who eagerly took it and dragged Sam across the parking lot. He laughed at Gabriel’s enthusiasm and followed him up the stairs to the apartment. They were all over each other again as soon as the door was closed behind them. Sam had Gabriel lifted up by the backs of his thighs and pressed against the wall briefly before carrying him back to the bedroom. Clothes were gone in a flash and Sam’s head spun. He was so gentle, almost afraid of hurting Gabriel in his rush, but when he paused to check on him, Gabriel actually seemed to be getting off on everything about Sam, his size, his gentle-but-firm touch, and the way he really  _ cared _ about everything he did to make Gabriel feel good.

Sam fell asleep that night with Gabriel wrapped tightly in his arms, face buried in his hair. He slept better than he had slept in months, perfectly at peace and truly happy.


	5. Chicago Christmas

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! Sorry for the long wait, but here's a not-too-terribly-short chapter. Chapter 6 will be the final chapter, and it'll be pretty long, so I'll make up for it there. PLEASE go check out the art for this story that's on Chapter 1. It was made by the amazing holydean on tumblr.

Sam very quickly learned over the next few weeks that Gabriel was extremely affectionate. There were lots of kisses on the cheek, countless hugs, and he almost always wanted to hold Sam’s hand. Sam loved all of it. He loved coming over on evenings where he wasn’t working to eat a home cooked meal and watch a movie. It almost always led to heated makeout sessions with Gabriel in his lap, but Sam wasn’t complaining. 

 

Now, he was working on college applications. He submitted an application for the next fall at the University of Kansas School of Law. It would be nearly a year from now when he would finally start attending if he got in, but he wanted it. It was right here in Lawrence and he wouldn’t have to move away. It was perfect.

 

...Until Gabriel had to go back to Chicago, again. It was approaching Christmas and Gabriel was told that he had to go. Castiel managed to get out of it, but Gabriel had to go. Sam knew he would miss seeing Gabriel for an entire week, but he knew Gabriel would call him every day, so they could still talk. That’s what he thought until Gabriel dropped this bombshell:

 

“Come with me?”

 

Sam blinked. “Huh?”

 

“Come to Chicago. I know my family sucks, but I want them to meet you, and I could show you around the city and…” he sighed. “I don’t want to go by myself. If you don’t want to, it’s okay.”

 

Sam thought for a moment. “I guess it could be fun. Yeah, we’d have to hang around your family for a while, but we could do some stuff on our own, right?”

 

Gabriel nodded. “Yeah, we’ll have a lot of time to ourselves, but the family time will suck.”

 

Sam smiled softly. “That’s okay. Honestly, I really didn’t want you to leave. I’d miss you. I can put up with whatever if it means that we don’t have to be separated.”

 

Gabriel blushed and rested his head on Sam’s chest. “I underestimated how adorable you were when I first met you.” He sat up and stretched. “Alright, I’ve gotta go finish stocking up. You have to work today?” 

 

Sam stretched his legs as well. “Yeah, I have the dinner shift today.” 

 

Gabriel nodded. “You gonna come by and grab a snack after work?”

 

Sam grinned and wrapped his arms around Gabriel. “Yeah, I’ll come grab you.”

 

Gabriel laughed. “Oh god, I’m rubbing off on you, aren’t I?”

 

Sam shrugged. “Maybe.” He got up and pulled his clothes on. “Save me a piece of banana bread?”

 

“Samsquatch, I will make you an entire loaf of banana bread.”

 

Sam smiled softly. “My hero.” He left Gabriel’s apartment with his hands in his pockets. The wind whipped around as winter began. He had really cleaned up the little apartment he used to share with Dean. He even got a houseplant, which made him pretty damn happy. 

 

Sam spent his afternoon relaxing around the apartment, made himself some lunch, and then went to work. He had a pretty good shift today, no incidents, and he made a decent amount of tips. Once he was done, he walked across the street and knocked on the door of the bakery. It had closed several hours ago, but this was routine now. Within a few seconds, Gabriel was down the stairs and opening the door for Sam with a plate in his hand. When Sam looked at the plate, there it was; the perfect loaf of banana bread. Sam’s stomach growled at the sight. 

 

A dinner of chicken, vegetables (that Gabriel only ate because Sam was staring him down), and banana bread for dessert later, and now they were cuddled up on the couch. Gabriel insisted on watching Hell’s Kitchen, and he was laughing his ass off at the insults. They were watching on Hulu, which meant about thirty seconds of credits between episodes. After the first episode, Gabriel kissed Sam’s cheek and along his jaw, settling down once the next episode started. 

 

After the second episode, Gabriel got a little more ambitious. He turned Sam’s head towards him and kissed his lips, his leg swinging over Sam so that he could straddle his lap. 

 

Sam smiled softly into the kiss and ran his hands up Gabriel’s back. He kept his touch light and gentle.

 

“Mmm, you know I’m not gonna break, Sam.”

 

“I know.”

 

Gabriel pulled back for a moment. “You touch me like a glass doll.”

 

“Is that a problem?”

 

“Not necessarily. I like it sometimes, but I like it rough too. I want you to use those big hands of yours and really hold me.”

 

Sam chuckled softly, but he looked down. “But, I’m a big guy, Gabe. I don’t want to hurt you.”

 

Gabriel took Sam’s hand and stuck it in his hair. “Grab and pull.”

 

Sam blinked in surprise, but he listened and clenched his fingers, gently pulling Gabriel’s hair.

 

Gabriel rolled his eyes. “Oh come on, that was weak.” He took Sam’s wrist and pulled it back hard, yanking his own head back.

 

“Doesn’t that hurt?”

 

“Maybe I like it.” Gabriel winked. 

 

Sam’s face flushed a little. He pulled again, harder this time, to see Gabriel’s reaction. His eyes widened when Gabriel let his head go back and moaned at the sensation. Damn...that was kind of hot. 

 

Gabriel took Sam’s wrists and moved them to his hips. “Hold me.”

 

Sam was encouraged by Gabriel’s reaction, so when he moved his hands, he grabbed Gabriel’s hips tightly and pulled him closer. He had always been so hyper-aware of how hard or soft he touched anyone. Sam was a big guy, and the last thing he wanted to do was hurt someone because he didn’t have control of his strength. 

 

But today, Gabriel seemed to be into it, so Sam didn’t feel as nervous about it. Sam lifted him easily and carried him back to the bedroom, smiling at the kisses being peppered down his neck. He laid Gabriel across the bed and kissed him deeply, pulling his shirt off over his head when he felt Gabriel’s hands pulling at it.

 

Sam usually went slow. He enjoyed going at a snail’s pace so that he could watch Gabriel come apart underneath his touches. As lovely as that was, today he wanted to let go and go wild. Gabriel’s hair was soft under his fingers and his skin hot pressed against his. Both of them let go, and good god, Gabriel was a fireball in bed. Sam knew he had red scratch marks all over his back. The bed rocked and creaked under their combined movements, banging against the wall. The sound of the bed was barely heard over the sound of Gabriel’s loud cries and moans. 

 

When Sam finished, panting and a little dazed. He suddenly felt a rush of anxiety when he looked down at Gabriel and saw him sprawled out under him, completely boneless. He was ass up, face down, and Sam’s hands were still wrapped tightly around his hips. He let go and started to pull away, terrified that he had hurt Gabriel. A hand grabbed his wrist.

 

“Don’t leave. You’re warm.”

 

Sam blinked in surprise. “I-I didn’t hurt you?”

 

“Hell no.” Gabriel chuckled. “That was awesome.”

 

Sam let out a long sigh of relief. He pulled out and draped himself over Gabriel’s back, wrapping his arms around him and rolling to the side. 

 

Gabriel made a soft “oof” sound as they hit the bed. He curled back against Sam’s chest. “We should probably wash the sheets. I kinda made a mess.”

 

Sam chuckled. “In a minute. You’re warm too.”

 

“Rough caveman sex does that to a guy.” 

 

Sam laughed and nuzzled his face into Gabriel’s hair. His chest felt warm and fuzzy. Nothing could shake this feeling of utter happiness he had right now. 

 

~~~

 

Christmas Eve came around faster than Sam expected, along with the nerves of meeting Gabriel’s family. Sam packed his duffel bag with the nicest clothes he had to make a good impression. Dean bid him farewell and tried to convince him one last time to “just drive and don’t get on the massive flying death trap.” Despite Dean’s protests, Gabriel had already booked the flight for them, so at seven in the morning, he was in the passenger seat of Gabriel’s car on the way to the airport, his heart pounding. He was so on edge that when Gabriel placed his hand on his thigh, he nearly jumped out of his skin.

 

“You okay, Sam?”

 

“Yeah, I’m fine.”

 

“If it makes you feel any better, I get really nervous going home too. My family is kind of crazy and it can be stressful. You’re an angel for coming with me. I know it’s a lot, staying there for three days, but I promise I’ll try and make it worthwhile.”

 

Sam took a deep breath and smiled softly. “As long as we get to stay together, it’ll be better than staying home alone or watching our brothers be all mushy at the dinner table.”

 

Gabriel chuckled. “I’ll second that. I’d do anything to not watch Cassie kiss all over Dean.” He parked at the airport. “Do you get airsick?”

 

Sam shrugged. “I’ve never actually been on a plane before.”

 

“Oh. It’s nothing horrible, most of the time. The airport is worse than the plane.” He got out of the car and got his suitcase out of the trunk. 

 

Sam followed Gabriel into the airport and into the security line. He had never seen so many middle-class businessmen in his life. Standing in line for half an hour definitely wasn’t the highlight of his day. He followed Gabriel to the gate and sat in the lobby to wait to board. “That wasn’t too bad.”

 

Gabriel slumped in his chair. “That sucked out my very soul.”

 

Sam chuckled. “Really?”

 

“Have you ever seen more people during their midlife crisis? It’s depressing.”

 

Sam shrugged. “I guess.” He waited at the gate until it was time for them to board. They called business and first class first, so Sam stayed seated. That was until Gabriel stood up. “We’re in business class?”

 

Gabriel nodded. “We are. C’mon.” He led Sam to the line and scanned his boarding pass. The gate leading to the plane felt like a portal to another dimension. There really wasn’t a good explanation for the feeling it gave Sam. 

 

The seats were large and Sam actually had enough leg room. He had fully prepared himself for bruised knees, and not the fun kind. “This is nicer than I expected.”

 

Gabriel settled in his seat. “No way your moose legs were fitting in coach comfortably.”

 

“Wait, you got business class so that I would have more leg room?”

 

“Technically, my brother Michael did, but yeah.”

 

Sam’s eyes widened a little. It wasn’t a super long flight, so it couldn’t be outrageously expensive, but even then...he started to wonder just how loaded the Novak family was. 

 

~~~

 

Sam got a better idea on the Novak family wealth when an actual limo was waiting for them and Gabriel seemed completely unfazed. His duffel looked even rattier than normal sitting in the trunk of the limo. He suddenly worried if his jeans were too dirty for the seat-

 

“Sam? You okay?”

 

“Yeah, yeah I’m fine.”

 

Gabriel took Sam’s hand. “Relax. You’re alright. It’s just a car.”

 

Sam took a deep breath and calmed himself down. He could do this. Gabriel wanted him here, so he would be here and supportive. 

 

Chicago was big and bright. It reminded Sam of San Francisco, which he visited a few times while he lived in California. Just outside of the city was a large suburban area. The limo pulled into a nice looking neighborhood where the houses got nicer and nicer as they got further into it. On top of a hill was a massive house with a winding driveway. In the center of the driveway was an elegant fountain surrounded by beautifully planted flowers. 

 

Sam’s jaw was still hanging open when he got out of the limo. He barely registered Gabriel taking his hand and leading him to the door. As they approached, the door opened and a man looked out. He had dark hair slicked back with what was probably extremely overpriced hair gel. He had a resemblance to Castiel, without the stubble. 

 

“You must be Sam. I’m Michael.” He held out his hand for Sam to shake.

 

Sam stopped and blinked like a deer in headlights. He was terrified, but he knew his manners. He started to move to properly introduce himself, but two hands pressed to his back and pushed him inside and past Michael.

 

“Great to see you, Mikey. We’re going upstairs. Tell everyone I said hi. Yell when it’s time for dinner.” Gabriel pushed Sam into the house and straight up the winding staircase and to the second bedroom on the right. 

 

Sam barely got to look around the house before he was in Gabriel’s room. There was a king size bed, a large wooden dresser, a desk covered in little knick-knacks, large windows, and a door that led to a walk-in closet. Sam gaped as he stared at everything. “Uhhh…”

 

“Sorry about downstairs. You’ll thank me later. Michael will grill you with questions as soon as he gets the chance. Don’t go near Luke. I mean it. Balthazar is annoying, but he’s pretty much harmless. The girls are fine too.”

 

Sam swallowed. “O-Okay.”

 

Gabriel set his suitcase by the bed and looked back at Sam. “I’m sorry I’m so high-strung right now. I just...I need a minute.”

 

Sam got pulled back to reality when he saw how tense Gabriel was. He frowned and walked up behind Gabriel, wrapping his arms around him. “It’s okay. Take your time.” He rested his nose against Gabriel’s hair.

 

“Thank you for coming. This helps a lot. I know it’s crazy, but I’ll try and make it worth your while.”

 

“It’s already worth my while.”

 

Gabriel looked down with a smile. “You’re sweet.” 

 

~~~

 

Dinner was announced a few hours later. Sam and Gabriel had spent that time relaxing in bed to cool down before dinner. The table was set with every traditional Christmas dish. Turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy, stuffing, cranberry sauce, and several plates of vegetables. Sam was a little spooked, but he kept his cool as he sat down next to Gabriel. He glanced around and remembered the descriptions Gabriel gave him of each of his siblings. Michael and Luke were across from each other. Michael was next to Gabriel. Balthazar was across from Gabriel, Hannah was across from Sam, and Anna was next to her. 

 

“So, Sam, you work at a diner?”

 

Sam blinked out of his studying of Gabriel’s siblings when Michael spoke. “Oh, yeah.”

 

“Hmm. Is that what you want to be doing?”

 

Gabriel glared. “Michael…”

 

Sam swallowed. “It’s okay. I guess I’m just taking a gap year between undergrad and law school.” 

 

“Ah, did you go to KU?”

 

“No, sir. I graduated from Stanford.”

 

Everyone at the table seemed surprised with that, even Michael. “Wow. Are you going back for law school?”

 

“No, but I have applied to KU’s law school. I plan on attending in the fall.”

 

Michael nodded, but he still seemed hellbent on getting Sam to crack. “What made you decide to take a gap year?”

 

“I had to take care of Dean. He lived alone and there wasn’t anyone else who could.” Sam avoided talking about what happened back in May.

 

“Ah, I forgot about him. It must be difficult to travel with him, given that he kept Castiel home this year.”

 

Sam shifted a little. Everyone was eating, except for him and Gabriel, who looked extremely annoyed.

 

“Lay off, Michael. It is hard for him to travel, and I really doubt he would even want to come if you were going to dig into him like you’re doing to Sam.”

 

Michael huffed, but he did stop talking, giving Sam the chance to start eating. The food was delicious, and eventually, a light chatter started up with the other Novaks. Balthazar was quirky and cocky, but he was pretty fun. Hannah and Anna were both sweet. Hannah was a little more reserved, but she had a pleasant vibe. There were cookies and pies brought out for dessert, which Gabriel held back his criticisms on. 

 

When everyone began to retire to bed, Sam found himself alone in Gabriel’s bedroom while the other was showering. He sat on the bed and texted Dean for a little while, telling him about Chicago and the massive house. The door opened, but Sam didn’t look up, assuming it was Gabriel. “Dean says hi.”

 

“Really? I didn’t think he would know much about me.”

 

Sam’s head shot up at the foreign voice at the door. He made eye contact with the one sibling he had yet to speak to, Luke, was in the doorway. “Sorry, I thought you were Gabe. Can I help you?”

 

Luke shrugged. “It’s alright. I was wondering, you’re the same kid whose wedding got crashed by the fire, right?”

 

Sam swallowed. “Uh, yeah.”

 

“Hm. That was in May, right?”

 

Sam nodded. “Yeah, it was.” He looked back at his phone, hoping that if he stopped paying attention, Luke would leave.

 

“Seven months seems pretty quick to get serious with someone new.”

 

Sam didn’t answer. He knew how he felt. Obviously he still grieved Jess, but Gabriel helped him through it. He knew that other people may want more time to be alone, but for him, his current relationship made him happy and he really liked Gabriel.

 

“Alright, I get when I’m being too pushy. I just get curious. Just seems like a pretty shitty thing to do, to use my little brother as your coping mechanism. He’s going to be really hurt when you inevitably get better and leave. Just something to keep in mind.” With that, Luke turned and left the room.

 

Sam felt like his heart was in his stomach. He had been really sure of himself thus far, but now? Was he really just using Gabriel? All he could do was sit quietly in thought until the door opened again and Gabriel walked in. 

 

“Hey, Samsquatch.”

 

Sam just hummed in response, unsure of what to say. For some reason, Luke really got into his head. 

 

Gabriel sat down on the bed next to Sam. “Whatcha thinkin’ about?”

 

Sam was silent for a few seconds before answering. “Am I using you?”

 

“What? Where did you get that idea? We’ve talked about this before. You said you knew how you felt, and even if being with me does help you heal, your feelings won’t go away as you heal, they’ve gotten stronger.”

 

Sam sighed and ran a hand over his face. “Sorry, you’re right. Luke just got into my head and-”

 

“You spoke to Luke?”

 

“More like he spoke to me. He came in and started asking me about the fire and our relationship. It was really weird. I don’t know why he got to be. I’ve been so sure.”

 

“He’s a master manipulator. I’d hardly call him my brother. He came at me with a knife once when we were kids.”

 

Sam stared with wide eyes. “Seriously?!”

 

Gabriel nodded. “Yeah, he’s insane. He likes to screw with people’s heads and watch relationships fall apart. It’s fucked up.”

 

“Jesus, yeah.” Sam felt a little better now knowing that. He looked at the clock and watched as it switched over to midnight. He smiled softly. “Merry Christmas.”

 

Gabriel looked at the clock as well before smiling and kissing Sam’s cheek. “Merry Christmas.”


End file.
